New Delhi:
In the FIR registered after Rahul Gandhi’s daylong dharna at a police station in New Delhi on Friday, 19-year-old Sahil Lochab has alleged that a “person in a blue uniform holding a large gun” fired pellets at him during the youth march towards Parliament on July 20. Lochab, a resident of Najafgarh in South West Delhi, participated in the Cockroach Janta Party-led demonstration at Jantar Mantar and the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march to protest the paper leak in a Delhi Police examination held in 2025.
Sahil On What Happened That Day
“In the afternoon, a lathi-charge occurred, causing a stampede. I ran along with the crowd of other youths and reached the area near Palika [Bazaar],” he said, describing July 20 in his statement for the FIR lodged at the Parliament Street police station.
“As I moved towards the front of the crowd, holding the Indian flag, thousands of students were present. At that moment, I felt a sudden impact on the right side of my body. Upon looking, I saw a person in a blue uniform holding a large gun, from which multiple metal pellets were fired at me. I was struck by pellets, and a crowd of students gathered around me,” he said. Blue uniform is usually worn by the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialised riot-control wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which was deployed alongside the Delhi Police on the march route on July 20.
Sections In FIR
The police invoked Sections 118(1) and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita (BNS), which carry a maximum jail sentence of three years each, depending on the severity of the injury caused. The accused persons remain to be identified, as per the FIR.
“Blood was flowing from my chest where the pellet had hit, and I could not see anything with my right eye,” Lochab added in his statement. He said he was taken on a motorcycle to Lady Hardinge Hospital, then referred to Safdarjung Hospital, and eventually to AIIMS. “I underwent the first surgery on my eye on the night of July 22. The doctor clearly noted in my Medico-Legal Case (MLC) report that my eye was struck by a metal pellet and stated that the chances of regaining vision are less than 1 per cent,” explained Lochab, a student of Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (SOL).
Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi also underlined his medical condition during the dharna outside the police station seeking an FIR.
साहिल की FIR दर्ज हुई। यह न्याय की तरफ़ पहला क़दम है।
पर सोचिए – एक FIR लिखने की इजाज़त तक गृह मंत्रालय से आनी पड़ी। अब समझ आया कि न्याय पर लगाम किसने लगा रखी है। pic.twitter.com/nvTwbEmplt
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 21, 2026
Sahil Cites Medical Condition
“A CT scan at AIIMS revealed the presence of over 200 pellets in my body, lodged in my eye, neck, chest (near the heart), jaw, arm, and other areas. Pellets located deep within the right eye socket, specifically near the optic nerve, cannot be extracted; these will remain inside my eye and near my heart for the rest of my life,” Sahil Lochab said, as per the FIR.
He said the doctor had told him long-term treatment was required and that the vision in that eye could not be saved: “In the medical notes dated July 31, 2026, the doctor explicitly recorded that the injuries were caused by metal pellets; this fact has also been documented in the AIIMS medical records.”
“My Only ‘Fault’ Was…”
He requested that CCTV and drone footage from Jantar Mantar, Sansad Marg, Connaught Place, and the surrounding areas be secured for July 20. “My case regarding treatment and compensation should be considered, as my recovery will be a long process,” he added.
“My only ‘fault’ was that, as a student, I was simply present at the scene; in return, I lost my eye and sustained multiple pellet injuries across my body. I have lost the opportunity to secure the Delhi Police job I had been studying for, and my education has come to a halt. My family’s financial situation does not allow for prolonged medical treatment,” he said.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, upon getting a copy of the FIR, said, “It has been a month since the pellet gun was fired. It is clearly visible. We came here for this student and his mother.”
