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

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is “confirming media reports” of the use of pellet guns against unarmed protesters by the Rapid Action Force (RAF) during the march to Parliament in New Delhi on July 20, an official said on Friday, July 24, 2026. This is coming in three days Hindu It reported the first known case of security forces using pellet guns against civilians in the national capital.

The CRPF official added that no action was taken as its authenticity was still being verified.

As of Friday, July 24, 2026, two people who were hit by pellets allegedly fired by RAF personnel are being treated in public hospitals. His family said that one of them, Sahil Lochab (19), was at risk of losing vision in his right eye due to the pellet entering his pupil.

Earlier, Delhi Police had denied using pellet guns against protesters. Pellet guns and stun batons are part of the RAF equipment working with Delhi Police and deployed in and around Jantar Mantar on July 20. The RAF is the specialized counter-insurgency unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MHA) has not yet issued a statement or clarified its stance on the disproportionate use of force.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (July 22) sought responses from the Center and Delhi Police on public interest petitions alleging excessive use of force against protesters during the July 20 march. Another case demanding an investigation into the HKP protest is expected to be heard on Friday, July 24.

It was known that the pellets fired from guns and penetrating the skin when sprayed from a distance were last used in farmers’ protests on the Khanauri and Shambhu border on the Punjab-Haryana border in 2024. Although police denied the use of pellet guns at the time, farm leaders claimed that many people were injured.

In Manipur, which was torn by ethnic conflict in 2023, weapons were used against protesters, leading to great public anger. In the past, pellet guns were used in Jammu and Kashmir during the 2016 riots, leaving many people partially or completely blind.