Ten people suffered pellet injuries during a youth protest march to Parliament in Delhi on July 20, according to information obtained under the Right to Information Act by Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale.

Gokhale said on Monday that he had received a response from Lady Hardinge Medical College showing that nine people with “pellet/projectile” injuries were brought to the hospital after the protest.

Safdarjung Hospital reported one case of pellet injury on July 20.

Delhi Police had denied using pellet guns against protesters a day after the march, which was held against alleged irregularities in competitive examinations.

But The Hindu, citing a general diary entry by the Rapid Action Force, reported on July 28 that its personnel had fired pellet guns at protesters on the orders of a Delhi Police officer.

The incident marked the first reported use of pellet guns in Delhi against unarmed protesters.

Two people injured in the firing, Prashant Kumar Singh and Sheikh Irshad Mansoor, have since approached the Supreme Court seeking a ban on the use of pellet guns to disperse crowds during protests.

Gokhale said he was still awaiting responses from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi.

“What sort of a joke of a democracy is it where the police use pellet guns, lie about it, and then refuse to disclose the number of victims when confronted,” Gokhale wrote on social media.

He also asked why the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government had not released a confirmed figure for those injured by pellet guns during the July 20 protest.

“[Union Home Minister] Amit Shah has been using the police and central agencies as his personal mafia,” Gokhale said. “And now he is hiding from Parliament.”

Delhi Police and the central armed police forces come under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Opposition parties have called for Home Minister Amit Shah to make a statement in Parliament on the police response to the youth protests.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Monday that Shah was prepared to address the protests over alleged examination irregularities and the police action, provided the Opposition did not disrupt proceedings.

Protests over examination irregularities

The protests began on June 6, when the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign held a demonstration at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of then-Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged mismanagement of competitive examinations.

Thousands joined the protests on July 20, two days after police forcibly took activist Sonam Wangchuk to hospital following a three-week hunger strike.

The march towards Parliament was met with a police crackdown. Protesters were injured after police used batons, tear gas and pellet guns.

The police action led to demonstrations in other parts of the country. Pradhan resigned as education minister on July 25.