India's 'cockroach' protesters have wounds consistent with pellet-gun fire, say experts

What the report says

Independent ballistic experts told the BBC that injuries seen on some protesters from a late-July demonstration in central Delhi were consistent with pellet-gun fire. The article said the protest, led by supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party, turned violent on 20 July as crowds tried to march toward parliament to demand education reforms and the resignation of the education minister. Delhi Police said 60 protesters and 118 officers were injured, though the party said the number of injured demonstrators was much higher.

According to the BBC report, at least four people had been treated in hospitals for wounds that experts said matched birdshot injuries. Two specialists cited in the piece said photographs, videos and medical records showed tiny round punctures and embedded pellets typical of shotgun cartridges used in crowd control. The government had not confirmed media reports that pellet guns were used, while police initially denied having such weapons. Later reporting in Indian media suggested the shots may have been fired by the Rapid Action Force, which operates under the Central Reserve Police Force.

The BBC described the cases of two injured men, including a journalist and a Gurugram-based worker, both of whom said they were struck near Connaught Place. Their injuries included pellets lodged in the arm, torso, face and neck, with one hospital official confirming pellet-type particles in a patient. The report said this would be the first confirmed use of pellet guns against people in India’s capital, if verified. Background cited by the BBC noted that pellet guns have long been controversial in Indian-administered Kashmir because of severe injuries they have caused there.