New Delhi [India], August 21 : Sahil Lochav, the youth who the Congress has alleged suffered pellet gun injuries during the protests in the national capital last month over examination paper leaks, thanked Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi after the Delhi Police registered an FIR on Friday.
Rahul Gandhi had staged a sit-in dharna at the Parliament Street Police Station, demanding registration of the FIR in connection with the injuries suffered by Lochav during the protest.
Lochav said the FIR marked the first step towards justice and credited Rahul Gandhi with helping him get the case registered.
"When I spoke to him recently, he (Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi) called to ask about my health, I mentioned that my FIR wasn't being registered. He immediately said, 'Let's meet tomorrow; I will go and get your FIR filed.' I want to thank him for helping me so much. This FIR is a first step towards justice," Lochav said.
He alleged that he had been trying to get an FIR registered since August 14 and said it took around eight hours for the case to be registered on Friday.
"It took eight hours to register the FIR, and perhaps it wouldn't have been registered at all if the LoP hadn't supported me. I had been running around trying to get an FIR filed since August 14," Lochav said.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police registered an FIR on Lochav's complaint in connection with the alleged use of pellet guns during the July 20 protests.
The FIR was registered under Sections 118 and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Section 118 deals with voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, while Section 125 pertains to acts endangering the life or personal safety of others.
Following the registration of the FIR, Rahul Gandhi and Lochav displayed a copy of the FIR outside the Parliament Street police station.
Sources had earlier said that the complaint is being examined to determine whether a new case can be registered in accordance with the Supreme Court's order.
Section 118 of the BNS deals with voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, while Section 125 deals with acts endangering the life or personal safety of others.
Rahul Gandhi, who arrived at the Parliament Street police station earlier in the day was joined by several party leaders, including his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
"Pellet gun was used at Connaught Place on 20th July. AIIMS report clearly says that there are more than 200 shells inside his body and 3 in his eye. He has lost vision in that eye. There are shells near his heart that cannot be touched. Delhi Police say they did not fire pellet guns. So, there is just one question: someone must have done it...A crime has indeed happened," Rahul Gandhi said earlier.
"We are demanding that an FIR be registered. They told us that they have received order from the top and they cannot file an FIR. We won't budge from here until an FIR is registered...All we demand is justice for this family...In this country, Amit Shah's Home Ministry and Delhi Police personnel won't let justice happen," he said.
Congress members gathered outside the Parliament Street Police Station in support of the party's demand.
Union Minister J P Nadda on Friday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the protest at Parliament Street Police Station, saying the Supreme Court has already taken cognisance of the July 20th incident and has constituted a five-member high-powered committee headed by a former judge and alleged that the Congress leader was indulging in "camera-centric drama merely to keep himself in the headlines".
Nadda alleged that Rahul Gandhi, who is Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, had indulged in "cheap, attention-seeking politics" outside the Sansad Marg police station.
He said the Congress leader's sit-in protest today is neither for the students nor for the sake of justice
"The entire nation is once again witnessing the kind of cheap, attention-seeking politics that Rahul Gandhi displayed today outside the Sansad Marg police station. Rahul Gandhi's sit-in protest today is neither for the students nor for the sake of justice; it is a symbol of the Congress party's political desperation and Rahul Gandhi's hunger for media attention," he said.
"The whole country knows that the Supreme Court has already taken cognisance of the July 20th incident and has constituted a five-member high-powered committee headed by a former judge. When the country's apex court is investigating the matter, what does Rahul Gandhi hope to prove by sitting in front of cameras outside the police station? Does the Leader of the Opposition lack faith in the country's judiciary? The truth is that Rahul Gandhi is staging this 'camera-centric' drama merely to keep himself in the headlines," he added.