Pellet-hurt student by his side, Rahul Gandhi slams Dharmendra Pradhan, demands apology from PM Modi
3 min readNew DelhiJul 24, 2026 07:38 PM IST
Lifting Sahil’s T-shirt to show his injuries to the media, Rahul Gandhi said the teenager also risked losing vision in one of his eyes that was damaged by pellets. (X/RahulGandhi)
Continuing to up the ante against the Centre and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday addressed mediapersons along with a student protester who had suffered pellet gun injuries in police action amid the stir in the national capital against paper leaks on July 20.
Gandhi said Pradhan must be removed, action must be taken against the personnel who shot at and lathicharged the protesters, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise to students.
“My brother was struck by a pellet gun when he was peacefully protesting with a tricolour in hand,” said Gandhi, pointing to 19-year-old Sahil Lochab while addressing mediapersons outside Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi’s 10, Janpath residence.
Lifting Sahil’s T-shirt to show his injuries to the media, Gandhi said the teenager also risked losing vision in one of his eyes that was damaged by pellets.
“This is the future of our country. This has happened to thousands of youth; they have been shot at with pellet guns and have been beaten up in lathi-charge. What are they doing? They are doing peaceful protests,” Gandhi said.
The LoP said Sahil had written an exam for recruitment in the police force but the question paper was leaked. “His (Sahil’s) parents, from their hard-earned money, had got him this opportunity (to appear for the exam). The government must stop lying. It has attacked our future,” he said.
“They (the protesters) are saying three things — the Education Minister, because of whom the students are protesting and paper leaks happened, must be removed; action must be taken against those who have fired at our future and beat them with lathis; and Narendra Modi… should apologise to thousands of students,” Gandhi added.
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“Stop assaulting and threatening our students,” remarked the Congress MP from UP’s Rae Bareli.
Sahil, who was allegedly hit by the pellet gun in his right eye, said he demands justice.
Later, in a post on X, Gandhi wrote: “Sahil is a student at Delhi University. He drives a car part-time to support his family. Like thousands of others, he too is a victim of paper leaks — the SSC Delhi Constable exam in 2025. Now he’s worried that the SSC has chosen the same vendor again, and that the paper might leak again.”
He wrote. “He joined the protests to demand justice and a better future. Now he risks losing vision in one eye permanently… We stand with Sahil. We stand with every student demanding accountability. Enough is enough. Education Minister Pradhan must resign.”
Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More
Source: Indian Express
