Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi staged a dharna outside Delhi’s Parliament Street Police Station on Friday, 21 August demanding an FIR over alleged pellet-gun injuries suffered by student protester Sahil Lochab during a July 20 protest at Jantar Mantar. Gandhi was accompanied by Lochab, whom the Congress has alleged suffered pellet injuries during the protest. The Congress leader said he would continue his sit-in until an FIR was registered. The protest triggered a sharp response from the BJP, with party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad accusing Gandhi of disrespecting the rule of law and engaging in the “politics of anarchy”. According to Congress sources, Lochab had submitted a written complaint on August 14 seeking action over his alleged injuries. The party has claimed that he was not given an I/O number or acknowledgement. The complaint was pursued again on August 17. Gandhi had earlier accompanied Lochab to the Delhi Police DCP office to seek registration of an FIR. He later moved to the Parliament Street Police Station and began his dharna. The Congress has alleged that Lochab suffered injuries to his eyes and abdomen after pellet guns were used during the July 20 protest. He later underwent surgery at the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Gandhi has also claimed that Lochab is at risk of losing vision in one eye. In a post on X, Gandhi accused the authorities of failing to act against those responsible. He alleged that Lochab had been attacked with a pellet gun while peacefully protesting and said an FIR and judicial inquiry should follow. “The FIR will be filed. A judicial inquiry will take place. And action will be taken against everyone--from top to bottom--who is guilty of this brutality,” Gandhi said. He also targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing him of being “scared of justice” over the issue. The BJP, however, said an FIR had already been registered in connection with the incident and that the matter was under investigation. Addressing a press conference, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned the need for Gandhi’s protest if the matter was already being investigated. He also pointed to a high-powered committee constituted by the Supreme Court to examine the incident. Prasad said the committee was headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and included other judges, a former CBI director and another senior official. He questioned Gandhi’s decision to stage a protest outside the police station and accused him of creating “anarchy” without permission or prior information. “Rahul Gandhi, do you have no respect for the rule of law?” Prasad asked. Prasad also said the question of whether shots were fired during the protest would be examined as part of the investigation. Several Congress leaders joined Rahul Gandhi at the Parliament Street Police Station, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, Salman Khurshid, Kumari Selja and Devendra Yadav. Rapid Action Force personnel and additional police personnel were also deployed around the police station amid Gandhi’s sit-in, according to police sources cited by PTI. The dispute has now turned into a larger political confrontation, with the Congress demanding accountability over Lochab’s alleged injuries and the BJP arguing that the existing investigation and Supreme Court-appointed committee should be allowed to establish what happened. The allegations surrounding the use of pellet guns and the circumstances of Lochab’s injuries remain subject to investigation.