LoP turns alleged pellet injury case into another political showdown
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday reached Delhi’s Parliament Street Police Station with a student who has alleged that he suffered pellet-gun injuries during a July 20 protest, demanding registration of an FIR.
Gandhi’s appearance at the police station quickly turned into a political show of strength, with the Congress leader staging a sit-in outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police after alleging that the student’s complaint had not been registered.
The student, identified as Sahil Lochab, has alleged that he was injured by pellet-gun fire during the protest. He had earlier approached the police with a written complaint, but Congress leaders accompanying Gandhi claimed that he was not given an acknowledgement or details of an investigating officer.
Gandhi first accompanied Lochab to the police authorities to seek an update on the complaint and later proceeded to Parliament Street Police Station. The Congress leader has insisted that the matter warrants an FIR and has accused the authorities of failing to act on the complaint.
From complaint to political spectacle
Instead of limiting the matter to pursuing the complaint through the established legal process, Gandhi turned his visit into a public confrontation, sitting on a dharna outside the police station and declaring that he would remain there until the complaint was taken up.
The move gives Gandhi another opportunity to put himself at the centre of the controversy surrounding the July 20 student protest. The Congress leader has repeatedly raised allegations of excessive police force during the demonstration and has publicly highlighted the case of the alleged pellet-gun victim.
Police, however, have denied firing pellet guns during the protest, making the circumstances surrounding the alleged injuries a matter of continuing dispute.
Gandhi steps up pressure over July 20 protest
Gandhi had earlier addressed the media alongside Lochab and alleged that students were subjected to pellet-gun fire and other excessive force during the demonstration. The Congress has continued to press the issue, while the alleged police action has also become part of the wider political confrontation surrounding the student protests.
Friday’s dramatic police station appearance marks another escalation in Gandhi’s campaign over the issue. With the Leader of Opposition personally joining the alleged victim at the police station and staging a sit-in, the complaint has once again moved from a police matter into the centre of a political showdown.
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