Centre lying on pellet gun use against protesters, says Rahul Gandhi

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday (July 24, 2026) accused the government of lying about the use of pellet guns. Earlier, he met Sahil Lachob, who suffered pellet gun wounds during action by the security forces on protesters on July 20 (first reported by The Hindu).

Mr. Gandhi said Dharmendra Pradhan was a “criminal education minister”, a symbol of the collapse of India’s education system, and must be removed.

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In a clear attempt to reach out to Gen Z, Mr. Gandhi chose to do a live press conference with Sahil on Instagram, a platform preferred by the youth, after meeting him at 10 Janpath, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s official residence.

The political row over the alleged use of pellet guns during the July 20 protest has now intensified. While the Delhi Police have denied using pellet guns against protesters, the CRPF, whose Rapid Action Force personnel were also deployed, said it was “verifying” reports of its use.

Also Read | CRPF ‘verifying’ reports of pellet guns used against protesters in Delhi: official

Standing alongside Sahil outside 10 Janpath, Mr. Gandhi said the government was misleading the country by denying that pellet guns had been used against student protesters.

“The government says ‘no’. My brother was struck by a pellet gun when he was peacefully protesting with a Tricolour in hand,” the Congress leader told reporters.

Mr. Gandhi lifted Sahil’s T-shirt to show injuries on his torso and said the youngster had also suffered damage to the right eye, leaving his vision impaired. “This is the future of our country. Thousands of youth have been shot at with pellet guns and beaten in lathi-charge. They were protesting peacefully,” he said.

The Congress leader said Sahil had appeared for a police recruitment examination but his paper was allegedly leaked. “His parents spent their hard-earned money to give him this opportunity. The government has attacked our future,” he said.

Mr. Gandhi said those responsible for “attacking” students should be punished, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise to the students. “Stop assaulting and threatening our students,” he said, accusing the government of suppressing a peaceful movement.

Sahil, who has undergone one surgery to remove pellets from the eye and is awaiting another, demanded justice. He was initially taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College before being shifted to Safdarjung Hospital and later to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.