Gandhi demands to know if Shah approved pellet gun use on students

Delhi Police have denied using pellet guns. In a post on X, the force said claims that it used pellet guns against peaceful protesters were "completely false and misleading." It said Delhi Police "neither possess pellet guns nor do they use them in the ongoing protest."

Medical reports and witness accounts contradict that denial. An Outlook journalist covering the protest said he was struck by what he believed was a pellet-firing weapon. His medical records documented pellet wounds. A 19-year-old Delhi University student, Sahil Lochab, suffered "pellet injuries" on the right side of his body and is at risk of losing his vision, according to The Indian Express. The Hindu reported that Shaikh Irshad Mansoori, 25, also suffered pellet injuries in what appears to be the first known instance of security forces using pellet guns on civilians in Delhi.

Pellet guns and shock batons were part of the gear carried by the Rapid Action Force, the anti-riot unit under the Central Reserve Police Force deployed alongside Delhi Police on July 20 around Jantar Mantar, according to reports.

The denial from Delhi Police does not address the presence of RAF personnel or their equipment at the protest site. The force's statement focused on its own inventory, not on the CRPF unit that was operating in the same area.

The exchange is likely to escalate further. Parliament is scheduled to sit this week, and the protest, led by the Cocokroach Janata Party, has drawn attention to demands for a more accountable education system. Gandhi's letter puts the home minister on notice: either he approved the use of pellet guns, or he did not, and the answer determines who authorized the force that left at least two civilians with documented pellet injuries.