India used pellets, grenades on Gen Z protests: What Amnesty report reveals

New Delhi, India – An probe by quality rights radical Amnesty International has confirmed that Indian authorities forces utilized lethal weapons, including pellet-firing shotguns, grenades, batons and electrical daze devices against demonstrators successful Gen Z protests that rocked the nationalist superior past month.

On July 20, thousands of protesters had each but unopen down New Delhi, blocking disconnected Parliament Street, demanding the resignation of then-Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan pursuing a drawstring of examination scandals involving the leaking of nationalist exam papers and different irregularities.

More than 100 students were injured successful the crackdown by constabulary and paramilitary forces that day. Indian newspapers obtained infirmary records that showed that doctors had treated pellet wounds successful respective cases.

India’s opposition, led by Congress enactment person Rahul Gandhi, has since called connected Home Minister Amit Shah, seen arsenic Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s confidant, to reply questions astir the alleged constabulary brutality and has joined protesters successful calling for his resignation.

But contempt mounting grounds and increasing governmental criticism, the Modi authorities repeatedly insisted that information forces had been measured successful their effect to the protests and denied utilizing excessive force.

Now, an Amnesty probe has recovered the usage of tactics that Indian instrumentality enforcement rulebooks themselves pass against utilizing successful each but exceptional circumstances.

Cockroach Janta Party supporters successful masks clasp placards and chant slogans during protests implicit introspection insubstantial leaks, astatine Jantar Mantar successful New Delhi, India, July 22, 2026 [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]

What happened connected July 20 successful New Delhi?

In July, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical, youth-led question which gathered momentum successful effect to the nationalist examinations scandal, called connected its supporters to march connected the Indian Parliament aft a monthlong sit-in failed to oust the acquisition minister.

Two days earlier the march, the constabulary forcibly removed renowned activistic Sonam Wangchuk, who had been taking portion successful a hunger strike. That determination galvanised nationalist anger, bringing retired much protesters successful New Delhi.

On the greeting of the march day, the constabulary utilized teardrop state arsenic protesters swelled, past attacked them with electrical daze batons, arsenic good arsenic shooting astatine them with pellet guns, Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab has verified from video and photographic grounds alongside witnesser testimony.

Amnesty besides recovered that authorities forces had enactment up barricades and enforced a communications blackout.

“The weapons were deployed successful a mode that breached planetary instrumentality and standards and home policing guidelines,” Amnesty said successful a connection connected Monday.

The rights group’s study besides noted that the Delhi Police had publically denied immoderate disproportionate usage of force, specifically pellet guns. The constabulary besides repeated this earlier India’s apical tribunal during a proceeding astir the alleged usage of excessive force.

Amnesty says the grounds it has gathered “directly contradicts [the police’s] account”.

Four days aft the July 20 march, arsenic protests spread crossed the country, constabulary successful Bihar state’s Siwan municipality opened occurrence connected protesters, injuring astatine slightest 3 youths.

Indian absorption person Rahul Gandhi gestures arsenic helium speaks with the media astatine a constabulary presumption successful New Delhi, August 21, 2026 [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]

Did authorities forces occurrence pellets astatine protesters?

Following the July 20 protest, respective videos and photos emerged of protesters with injuries accordant with pellet wounds, which were reflected successful their aesculapian records arsenic well.

The Evidence Lab verified 2 videos showing a paramilitary Rapid Action Force serviceman firing a shotgun into the assemblage astatine the intersection of Connaught Place and Parliament Street successful New Delhi, wherever protesters had gathered.

At slightest 2 protesters had wounds accordant with those caused by birdshot, a hunting circular that fires a ample fig of tiny metallic pellets, the radical noted.

“The doctors confirmed that they were pellet injuries. Thankfully, my bones person been saved, but my assemblage has been scarred badly,” 1 protester told Amnesty.

Amnesty said birdshot ammunition has not been developed for instrumentality enforcement purposes owed to the wide dispersion of the metallic pellets, which “is inherently inaccurate and presents a precocious hazard of superior injuries to the targeted idiosyncratic and adjacent bystanders”.

Amnesty besides said the constabulary did not contented a nationalist informing earlier firing pellet guns, arsenic recommended by the Indian government’s Bureau for Police Research and Development.

Police and information forces person utilized metallic pellets for much than a decennary successful Indian-administered Kashmir, starring to the archetypal mass blinding during a 2016 civilian uprising.

Posting connected X, Delhi Police called the reports of pellet injuries during the latest protests “fake news”, “completely mendacious and misleading” and warned that “appropriate ineligible action” would beryllium taken against anyone “spreading rumours”.

A consequent interior enquiry by India’s paramilitary forces, however, reportedly recovered that unit had fired astatine slightest 7 rounds of ammunition containing metallic pellets.

“Instead of facilitating the close to protest, Indian authorities suppressed it archetypal with a connection blackout, barricades and transport disruption. They past attempted to crush it with unnecessary oregon excessive usage of unit against peaceful protesters, including children,” said Aakar Patel, seat of the board, Amnesty International India.

“This heavy-handed effect was state-sanctioned unit masked arsenic assemblage control. The continued impunity aft a period is simply a testament to that,” Patel said.

Did constabulary usage teardrop state grenades and batons?

Government forces did usage teardrop state grenades to disperse the assemblage astatine respective places successful New Delhi, arsenic seen by Al Jazeera and verified by Amnesty, not conscionable connected July 20 to forestall CHP supporters’ march to Parliament.

“Tear state grenades releasing an excessive magnitude of explosive vigor are highly unsafe and should beryllium prohibited for usage successful nationalist assemblies,” Amnesty said, referring to videos of teardrop state shells exploding adjacent students.

The radical besides noted that witnesses observed that “tear state grenades were launched straight astatine protesters alternatively of astatine an angled trajectory supra the caput of protesters, astatine likelihood with UN Guidance connected the usage of Less-Lethal Weapons successful Law Enforcement”.

Amnesty has besides verified claims that the constabulary utilized lathis, the Indian mentation of batons, to bushed protesters.

The UN peculiar rapporteur connected torture considers lathis to beryllium inherently cruel, inhuman oregon degrading arsenic “they present a greater level [of] kinetic unit than accepted batons, causing excessive symptom and expanding the hazard of superior injury” and has called for them to beryllium prohibited, a presumption that Amnesty supports.

The radical besides recovered men successful civilian covering beating protesters “while uniformed officers, who escorted them toward the crowd, basal beside them and marque nary effort to intervene”, arsenic disposable successful videos seen by Al Jazeera. Several officials were not wearing their sanction tags oregon badge numbers, arsenic required.

What has been the absorption to the usage of excessive force?

A time aft the crackdown successful New Delhi, CJP laminitis Abhijeet Dipke told the crowd, “Every constabulary idiosyncratic who attacked you would beryllium identified and dragged to the courts”.

The radical besides launched a level for protesters to upload videos and photos from the crackdown.

The opposition, led by the Congress’s Gandhi, pushed the location curate for a treatment connected the contented successful Parliament, an contented that plagued the monsoon league with Shah missing.

Gandhi argued that either Shah ordered the usage of lethal weapons, successful which lawsuit “he is guilty”, oregon helium was unaware of the situation, which makes him “incompetent” for the job.

Sahil Lochab, a 19-year-old who mislaid imaginativeness successful 1 oculus owed to pellet injuries, said the constabulary had been refusing to registry his complaint. In response, Gandhi staged a seven-hour sit-in extracurricular the bureau of the Delhi Police chief, insisting that a lawsuit beryllium registered implicit the usage of pellet guns connected protesters, alongside Lochab.

After Gandhi’s pressure, the constabulary relented. A pupil astatine the University of Delhi, Lochab received aggregate pellet injuries connected his chest, back, arms and face. Several pellets could not beryllium taken out, helium said successful his complaint.

“My aesculapian documents amusement that determination are implicit 200 pellets successful my body. Doctors person told maine that the anticipation of my eyesight coming backmost is little than 1 percent,” Lochab wrote successful his complaint.