Teen protester receives pellet injuries in Delhi, could lose sight in one eye

The first thought Ajay Duggal had when he saw his nephew, his eyes shut, his face, neck and chest pockmarked with tiny red perforations, was this: “What if the 19-year-old loses his sight completely.”

Sahil Lochab was allegedly hit by a pellet gun in his right eye during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest in Delhi on June 20. His uncle asked him what he could see from the eye. The reply chilled him - there was nothing. No blur, no haze, only darkness.

“Sahil said he was hit directly in his eye. From what we have been told, another operation involving the pupil will determine whether his vision will return,” Duggal told PTI.

The teen from Najafgarh was among the 60 protesters injured, according to Delhi Police estimates. While he allegedly received pellet gun injuries during the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march that erupted in chaos and clashes, so did at least one more person.

Sahil has undergone one surgery to repair the injured eye and remove pellets and is awaiting another.

He was first taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College and later to Safdarjung Hospital before being shifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre on July 21.

“He was conscious when they brought him here. He was talking to us. But when I saw his face, I kept looking at his eyes and thinking - what if he had lost his sight completely? Who would give him back the life he had before he went to that protest?” Duggal said.

“I asked him, ‘beta, can you see properly?’ He told us said he cannot see from his right eye at all. It is pitch black. It is not even hazy or blurry vision,” he added.

Doctors initially told the family that there was only a “1 per cent chance” Sahil would regain his vision.

On Thursday, his doctors offered the family some hope, saying his chances may improve.

“Today, the doctors gave us some reassurance and said the chances are improving. But he cannot see at all, and he is in a lot of pain,” Duggal said.

According to a source aware of his treatment, doctors have described his visual prognosis as “guarded,” which means his chances of recovering his vision are uncertain. He is likely to undergo another surgery in the next day or two.

The teenager has multiple pellet injuries to his face, neck, chest, right shoulder and arm. A pellet was lodged in his right eye, causing corneal perforation - a full-thickness hole in the cornea, while another was found in his right lung and pericardial fat - a tissue surrounding the heart, the source said.

Sahil’s life, his family said, revolves around studying and preparing for a future in the police force. He is a student at Delhi University’s School of Open Learning and was preparing for the Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level examination.

“He always wanted to become a police officer. He was studying and preparing for competitive examinations,” Duggal said.

He had attended the CJP protest, which began in Jantar Mantar on June 20, earlier and went again on July 20, telling his family that it was important.

“We even tried to stop him, but you know how kids are, they do not listen,” Duggal said.

The family waits outside the hospital, holding on to the possibility that their child will regain full vision. They said they were informed that the pellets that injured Sahil were made of metal.

The circumstances surrounding Sahil’s injuries have also raised questions about the alleged use of pellet guns during the protest.

Delhi Police has denied that its personnel used pellet guns against protesters during the march. The CRPF, whose Rapid Action Force was also on the streets on the day, did not respond to questions about the alleged use of pellet guns.

Pellet guns were used in Kashmir to curb the violence that erupted in 2010 but were discontinued by the then state government. In July 2016, they were used again when protestors went on a rampage following the death of banned Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit's poster boy Burhan Wani.

A pellet gun fires cartridges loaded with up to 600 metal or rubber pellets, which disperse in a widespread manner at speeds of 1,000 feet per second. The SOP is that the gun should be fired from a minimum distance of 500 feet. The muzzle of the gun should always targeted below the waist.

Sahil is not the only protester to suffer serious injuries during the demonstrations.

With him is Sheikh Mansoori, 25, a Gurugram resident who has allegedly suffered seven pellet injuries to his face, including to his nose, forehead, both eyes and cheeks. He was taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College, where he underwent surgery and is likely to require another procedure.

At Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, 21-year-old Sakshi, who suffered critical injuries in a stampede-like situation near Jantar Mantar and Tolstoy Marg, has been taken off ventilator support.

The scheduled march was part of the ongoing agitation over exam irregularities and for the demand for the Union education minister's resignation.