Nearly a month after a 19-year-old protester was allegedly injured by pellet firing during a march in Delhi, the Delhi Police registered an FIR following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s intervention and sit-in outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in central Delhi.

The FIR relates to alleged pellet gun use during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) march on July 20 and has been registered under Sections 118(1), dealing with voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous weapons, and 125, concerning rash or negligent acts endangering human life.

The complainant, Sahil Lochab, was allegedly injured when pellets were fired during the CJP-led march towards Parliament. Gandhi accompanied Lochab and his mother as they sought the registration of a case after, according to them, repeated attempts to pursue the complaint failed to produce a response from the police.

Lochab had first submitted a written complaint on August 14. According to Gandhi, neither an acknowledgement nor details of the investigating officer were provided. The matter was again pursued on August 17 through email and phone calls, but the family said they still received no information about the officer handling the complaint.

Rahul Gandhi and Lochab initially went to Mandir Marg police station before proceeding to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Delhi, at Parliament Street, where Gandhi staged a sit-in demanding that an FIR be registered.

“He (Lochab) pursued (the case) on 17th (August) with email and phone. Again, no details of the Investigating Officer were given. No acknowledgement was also given,” the Congress leader said, The Indian Express reported.

He added that Gandhi accompanied Lochab to help him.

“As it’s a cognisable offence, an FIR also has to be registered, but Delhi police is not doing so,” Gandhi said.

After the FIR was registered, Lochab and his mother displayed a copy of it and thanked Gandhi for intervening. They said they had been pursuing the matter since August 14 and alleged that the delay in registering the case had continued until higher-level intervention.

Lochab’s mother said that her son continues to suffer from the injuries sustained during the July 20 protest.

“Today, with the support of Rahul Gandhi, we were able to get the FIR registered. It’s been month since the incident happened. Sahil has pellets in his body and has injury in his eyes also. The police have taken so long to get even the FIR registered,” The Hindu reported.

Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal also alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had directed the Delhi Police not to register an FIR on the complaint filed by Lochab. Venugopal was responding to questions regarding Gandhi’s protest outside Parliament Street police station and said the delay had occurred despite the seriousness of the alleged injuries.

He said Lochab had suffered a pellet injury to his eye and was facing the possibility of losing his eyesight.

“The mother and the boy came and gave a complaint, so an FIR must be registered and investigated,” he said.

The registration of the FIR marks a significant development in the case, which had remained pending despite the complaint being submitted days earlier.

The investigation will now have to examine the circumstances surrounding the alleged pellet firing during the July 20 march and determine how Lochab sustained his injuries.