Shaikh Irshad Mansoori, 25, says he suffered multiple pellet injuries during the police action at the July 20 protest in central Delhi and underwent surgery at Lady Hardinge Medical College.
Doctors allegedly removed pellets lodged near his eye, neck and face after scans showed they were close to critical nerves and muscles, according to Mansoori.
Delhi Police have denied using pellet guns during the operation, raising fresh questions over what caused the injuries sustained by protesters.
As Delhi Police continue to deny using pellet guns during the crackdown on protesters in central Delhi on July 20, one of the injured protesters has claimed that surgeons removed multiple pellets from his face and neck after emergency surgery, with doctors warning that some fragments were lodged dangerously close to vital nerves and muscles.
Shaikh Irshad Mansoori, 25, a resident of Jabalpur who works at a private firm in Gurugram, told Outlook India in an interview that he was among those injured during the police action.
The injuries occurred during the ongoing "Sansad Chalo" protest in Delhi, where students and youth groups have been demonstrating over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and demanding accountability from the Centre.
On July 20, thousands of protesters attempted to march towards Parliament but were stopped by Delhi Police near central Delhi, leading to clashes and a police crackdown. Protesters have alleged excessive use of force, including lathi-charge, tear gas and pellet guns, allegations that Delhi Police have denied.
Despite the crackdown, demonstrations have continued at Jantar Mantar, with protesters saying they will continue their agitation until their demands are addressed.
Mansoori said he had been at the protest site near Kerala House from around 9 a.m. before leaving briefly for a personal appointment. He returned to Connaught Place at around 3.30 p.m., by which time the police action had begun.
“Suddenly Hit My Face”
"As I reached the Inner Circle and started walking towards the protesters, I suddenly saw the lathi-charge had started. The police were pushing everyone back," he recalled.
Mansoori said the protesters attempted to demonstrate that they were peaceful. "All of us raised our hands and kept saying, 'Sir, please stop. We are not terrorists. We are not against you. We are only protesting.' We didn't do anything."
According to him, while he stood with his hands raised, "something suddenly hit" his face. "It struck my left eyebrow and shattered into multiple pieces. The fragments entered different parts of my face. Another piece hit my right chin," he said.
With the help of fellow protesters, Mansoori was rushed to Lady Hardinge Medical College and Hospital, where doctors first controlled the bleeding before conducting multiple scans to identify the location of the embedded fragments. He said the doctors told him that there are three pellets which they considered particularly dangerous.
"One pellet was lodged in my neck, very close to a major nerve and a blood vessel. Another was near the muscle that controls movement of my left eye. If it had stayed there, it could have affected my eye movement. The third was lodged on the right side of my face, near my nose, inside the facial cavity. Doctors told me it could have damaged the structure of my face."
According to Mansoori, doctors advised immediate surgery to remove the pellets. He said he was counselled by the Director of Lady Hardinge Medical College, who explained the risks and remained in contact with him before the operation.
Because specialist surgeons were unavailable late that night, he first received wound cleaning, pain management and stabilisation before surgery was scheduled the following morning. Mansoori said he read the consent forms along with his friend, before agreeing to the operation, a detail his friend confirmed while speaking to Outlook on 21st July, the day Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda also met him, a video of which has been shared by PTI as well. “Even he assured me that I would feel better after the pellets are removed,” he told Outlook.
“Doctors told these were pellets," he stated. Following the operation, Mansoori said surgeons removed pellets from his face and neck. He currently has stitches on his neck, inside his eye and inside his mouth.
"I can see properly now, although my eye is still red because of the surgery. The doctors have advised me to remain in the hospital until the stitches heal," he said.
Medical Records Raise Fresh Questions
When Outlook India asked specifically how he knew the injuries were caused by pellets, Mansoori said the doctors themselves informed him. "The doctors clearly told me these were pellets. They used the medical term while explaining the injuries and the fragments lodged inside my body." He also said he had donated blood at a Gurugram hospital just five or six days before the protest to help a 10-year-old child suffering from blood cancer.
Despite the injuries, Mansoori said the incident has not changed his commitment to the movement. "I am proud that I was part of this protest. I never imagined something like this would happen. I believed we were protesting peacefully and that our demands would be heard. If I ever get another opportunity, I will definitely join again."
When asked who he believed fired the projectile, Mansoori said the personnel he saw were "wearing blue uniforms."
Delhi Police have consistently denied using pellet guns during the July 20 operation. The force has maintained that only standard crowd-control measures were employed while dispersing protesters.
The number of injured due to pellet guns can be more, Outlook has learnt. One of the sources at LHMC said that there were over a hundred patients on July 20th, and a few did have pellet gun wounds.
Pellet-firing shotguns, often described as "less lethal" crowd-control weapons, can cause devastating injuries, particularly when fired at close range or aimed above the waist.
Why Pellet Guns Remain Deeply Controversial
In India, their use has historically been associated primarily with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Jammu & Kashmir Police. The Union Home Ministry, in 2018, stated in Parliament that these weapons are governed by Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), that personnel receive specialised training, and that they are intended to be used only as "less-lethal" weapons after other crowd-control measures prove ineffective.
Amnesty International has documented cases in which metal pellets have caused permanent blindness, facial disfigurement, skull fractures and life-threatening injuries after becoming lodged near the eyes, brain, neck and other vital organs.
In its 2017 report on Kashmir, the rights group said pellet-firing shotguns are "dangerous, inaccurate and indiscriminate", documenting dozens of cases of severe eye injuries and noting that some victims continued to have metal pellets embedded near their eyes and skulls because surgeons considered their removal too risky.
A broader 2023 Amnesty report on kinetic impact projectiles similarly found that such weapons have caused thousands of injuries globally, including ruptured eyeballs, retinal detachments, facial fractures, brain injuries, punctured lungs and permanent disabilities when used against protesters.
