Ten persons injured by pellets during youth protest march to Parliament, shows RTI response

Ten persons were injured by pellets during a youth protest march to Parliament on July 20 in Delhi, showed a Right to Information response received by Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale.

In a social media post on Monday, Gokhale shared a response received from the Lady Hardinge Medical College, which said that nine persons with “pellet/projectile” injuries were brought to the facility after the march.

The Safdarjung Hospital stated that it received one case of pellet injury on July 20.

A day after the march, the Delhi Police had denied firing pellet guns at those protesting against the alleged mismanagement of competitive exams.

However, citing a general diary entry made by the Rapid Action Force, a unit of the Central Reserve Police Force, The Hindu reported on July 28 that pellet guns were fired at protesters on the orders of a Delhi Police officer.

This was the first time that pellet guns had been used in Delhi against unarmed protesters.

Two persons who were injured by pellets – Prashant Kumar Singh and Sheikh Irshad Mansoor – have since moved the Supreme Court seeking a ban on the use of pellet guns to disperse crowds during protests.

On Monday, Gokhale said that he had yet to receive a response from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in...

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