Rahul Gandhi stages dharna at Parliament Street police station, demands FIR for pellet-injured student

Rahul Gandhi stages dharna at Parliament Street police station, demands FIR for pellet-injured student

Published By: Mayank Kasyap 21 Aug 2026 02:54 PM
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Rahul Gandhi with pellet gun victim of Sansad Chalo March, Sahil Lochab

Courtesy: Congress

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi staged a sit-in outside the Parliament Street Police Station in central Delhi on Friday, 21 August 2026. He was accompanied by Sahil Lochab, a 19-year-old from Najafgarh who says he was hit by pellets during the 20 July Cockroach Janata Party-led “Sansad Chalo” march.

Gandhi first visited Mandir Marg police station with Lochab to seek registration of an FIR. When that did not happen, the pair moved to Parliament Street and met the Deputy Commissioner of Police. Discussions failed to produce an investigating officer number or formal FIR. Gandhi then sat outside and declared he would not leave until the complaint was registered.

Congress workers raised slogans. Senior leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh and others later joined the protest. Police barricaded the area and closed the station gates as supporters tried to enter.

Why has the FIR not been registered yet?

According to Congress sources, Lochab and his lawyers submitted a written complaint on 14 August. They received neither an investigating officer number nor an acknowledgement. Follow-up attempts by email and phone on 17 August also produced no response. Gandhi accompanied the youth on Friday to insist on both the IO details and an FIR, arguing the allegations disclose a cognisable offence.

Delhi Police sources told reporters the complaint has been accepted and will be forwarded to the Crime Branch, which is already investigating all cases linked to 20 July. An investigating officer has been assigned in the broader probe, they said. Legal action will be taken as per law.

What do the medical records and claims show?

Lochab underwent surgery at the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Gandhi told the media that an AIIMS report recorded more than 200 shells in the body, three of them in one eye, with vision loss in that eye and some pellets near the heart that cannot be removed. He displayed metallic pellets recovered from the student and asked how the injuries occurred if police did not fire pellet guns.

Delhi Police has repeatedly denied using pellet guns during the 20 July events. The CRPF, whose Rapid Action Force personnel were also deployed, has remained largely silent or said it was verifying reports. Media investigations, victim accounts and some medical documents have continued to raise questions about the official denial. An RTI application earlier indicated at least ten people suffered pellet injuries.

The 20 July protest saw hundreds of students try to march towards Parliament over exam paper leaks and related education issues. Then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned days later. The Supreme Court has since set up a high-powered committee to examine allegations of police action and violence linked to the protests.

What happens next in the stand-off?

Gandhi has framed the refusal to register the FIR as a denial of justice. In posts and statements he has questioned accountability at the highest levels and said the party will not leave until the case is formally registered. Congress leaders present on Friday reiterated that a cognisable complaint must result in an FIR.

Police maintain the matter is under investigation through the Crime Branch route. The sit-in continued for several hours with senior Congress figures present. No immediate resolution was reported by early afternoon.

The episode revisits a dispute that has run for a month. Medical evidence cited by the opposition, police denials, and the absence so far of a formal FIR in this individual complaint keep the political and legal pressure high. Further developments will depend on whether the Crime Branch process satisfies the complainant’s demand for a registered case and named investigating officer.