‘Who approved pellet guns?’ Rahul Gandhi writes Amit Shah over ‘barbaric assault’ on students | India News

Rahul Gandhi along with a victim of alleged pellet gun firing during a students protest

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah, demanding accountability for the “barbaric assault” on students protesting “peacefully” at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on July 20.Calling out the “most shocking” use of “lethal pellet guns,” the Congress leader claimed that a 19-year-old student has been undergoing a severe pain and is “likely to lose an eye because he was shot with pellet guns”.“Security forces deployed in Delhi answer ultimately to you, so I ask:1. As Home Minister, did you approve the use of lethal force including pellet guns against students? If not, who did? 2. Are the people in plain clothes seen beating students with lathis police personnel or volunteers? Who authorized their deployment?” Rahul Gandhi wrote in a letter addressed to Amit Shah.

The Congress leader futher said that it’s “government’s responsibility to protect protestors and resolve their grievances through dialogue”. “Peaceful protest is crucial to any democracy. It is the government’s responsibility to protect protestors and resolve their grievances through dialogue. Such brutal violence destroys every norm, and has outraged the country. Youth and students, the future of our country, are demanding answers and accountability. Their voice will be heard,” he further wrote.Rahul Gandhi on Saturday slammed the government, saying children protesting for their rights receive “pellets” instead of “justice.”In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi shared a video featuring a youth who was reportedly beaten by the Delhi Police during Monday’s protests against paper leaks.“Sahil was standing with the Tricolour in his hand, merely asking for a clean, fair exam and the fruit of his hard work–the police raised a gun and badly injured him by firing pellets. This is not British tyranny; it is the brutality of the Modi government in independent India–where innocent students demanding their rights receive pellets instead of justice,” the post read.More than 118 police personnel sustained injuries, including senior officers holding the ranks of Special Commissioner of Police, Joint Commissioner of Police, Additional Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, and Assistant Commissioner of Police, along with several female police personnel. During the scuffle, around 60 protesters were also reported to have been injured.On Friday, the Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, to strengthen the anti-paper leak law amid continuing nationwide protests over the NEET-UG row, while the deadlock in Parliament continued for the fifth day. According to sources, the proposed amendment Bill is likely to be tabled in Parliament on Monday, July 27.