Ten Hit by Pellets on July 20, RTI Brings the Receipts

At least 10 people were injured by pellets during the march to Parliament on July 20, according to Right to Information (RTI) responses provided by two hospitals to All India Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale. The responses from Lady Hardinge Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital indicate that pellet related injuries were recorded at both institutions following the protest. Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi stated in its RTI response that nine people were injured by pellets. Hospital sources subsequently confirmed the authenticity of the response. Safdarjung Hospital reported one person injured by pellets in its response to the RTI query. Taken together, the two hospital response account for at least 10 people who sustained pellet injuries in connection with the July 20 march to Parliament. The RTI disclosures provide a hospital based record of the injuries, but the responses themselves do not establish the circumstances in which the pellets were fired, who fired them, or the precise sequence of events during the march. Those aspects would require additional information from official records and eyewitness accounts. The disclosures have nevertheless added documented medical data to the discussion surrounding the July 20 Parliament march. The figures from the two hospitals offer a specific indication of the number of pellet related injuries recorded by those institutions, while leaving broader questions about the incident open for further examination.