New Delhi: The injuries Shaikh Irshad Mansoori sustained while protesting near Connaught Place (CP) on July 20 look suspiciously like those of pellet victims we have seen earlier from Jammu and Kashmir. While Delhi Police has repeatedly denied using such weapons, the Rapid Action Force, or the Central Reserve Police Force that it comes under, has not commented on the matter – despite Irshad and his friends saying that it was an RAF jawan who used the weapon that caused the wounds on his face and neck.The Wire has reached out to the IG, RAF, and this article will be updated when a response is received.(You can read more about what happened to Irshad here.)Irshad says that he was hit by pellets on his face, neck and shoulder, with some of them penetrating quite deep. The incident occurred near CP’s Palika Bazar, which can be confirmed using this video where Irshad can be seen bleeding while seated on a scooter near the Dosa Coffee restaurant in CP. Irshad’s video from hospital was recorded and posted by another victim of lathicharge admitted in the Lady Hardinge Medical College, and Irshad confirmed it to The Wire.Irshad bleeding at CP.Firing confirmed: On Instagram, we found a video posted where a Rapid Action Force (RAF) jawan can be seen firing at protesters using a gun around the same place where Irshad claimed he was hit. The video was uploaded by creator @shivamshorts002, who has been uploading videos from the protest site since July 3. In the video, he can be heard adding a commentary to the visuals, “See, they fired using a gun.” His other videos are of the same format; commentary over recorded videos.Screengrab of the video by the creator Shivam with commentary, “See, they fired using a gun.”Two independent sources, with experience of handling such weaponry, on being requested to examine the images above confirmed that they indeed can be used to fire lead pellets. “This is a 12-bore pellet gun,” said one. Another, a professional competitive shooter, said, “This appears to be a 12-bore pump-action rifle. Instead of a single bullet, its ammunition typically consists of many small pellets that spread out and cover a wide range when fired and discharged from the barrel. It’s typically used to hit moving targets.”Place confirmed: The Instagram reel shows an RAF jawan pointing a gun toward protesters. Later, you can hear the sound of gunfire and clearly see the recoil. We have been able to establish that this location is the protest site near Palika Bazaar in Connaught Place on July 20, as one of the videos recorded by our reporter and run during a YouTube Live (1:08:10) on The Wire’s channel shows the same tree behind the officer and the hoarding for Pind Balluchi Restaurant.Another visual shared from around the same location, as confirmed by The Wire, also shows another protester who has pellet-like injuries.Pellet gun shots. Pallet guns are part of RAF gear working in coordination with the Delhi Police.Here’s one more video. https://t.co/XHC1B1q3pM pic.twitter.com/qi89QsCpfK— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) July 22, 2026Time confirmed: We have also been able to establish that the video showing the firing was from the day of the Parliament March, when thousands of protesters gathered over Palika Bazaar before the march started.Today is July 22, and the description of the video says it was uploaded a day ago. There were no reports of violence from a day ago near CP during the day. The video then must be from two days ago, on the day of the Sansad March, when tear gas and lathicharge were used against protesters near Palika Bazar.Another video, uploaded by user @shivani.79_, also shows an RAF jawan pointing a gun towards the protesters; the sound of gunfire and the gun’s recoil can again be clearly seen. The location is also near Palika Bazaar in CP. However, the exact time it was recorded cannot be confirmed, and the video was uploaded on July 22.Irshad had also told us that he was hit near Palika Bazaar on the day of the Sansad March.Another potential victim emerges: Outlook magazine has reported that its journalist, who remains unnamed, was fired upon by a weapon that matches the description of a gun that can fire pellets. The injuries also match what would occur after being hit by pellets.The journalist narrowly escaped being hit in the chest and face, but secured severe injuries on his arm, the publication reports. The firing occured as he covered the July 20 youth protest that faced a police crackdown.“Medical records prepared after the incident documented multiple puncture wounds on his arm. Photographs reviewed by Outlook show several small injuries resembling pellet-like wounds,” the report said. It has shared photographs of the injuries and a medical report.The photographs accompanying Outlook magazine’s story on injuries sustained by its reporter while covering the protest on March 20.The weapon in questionThe gun in question has been identified by experts as a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, loosely dubbed a pellet gun, which can be used for lead pellets or firing other material.Manufactured in Ishapore, they have a range of up to 45–50 metres and “have been designated as part of non-lethal crowd-control measures.” A single cartridge disperses hundreds of pellets in a wide, unpredictable cone. In August 2016, the security forces told the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that it used cartridges containing 450 metal pellets each. The government has refused to release information on the metal used in these cartridges, citing national security concerns.Earlier, Type 4/5 pellets were used inside the cartridge, which were heavy enough to pierce vital organs, behave like live ammunition at close range and cause fatal injuries. They were subsequently replaced with much lighter and smaller Type 8/9 pellets that were intended to remain superficial, lodging only in the skin to cause pain and deter protesters, rather than causing the internal bleeding associated with Type 4/5. But Type 8/9 pellets are still dense enough to easily rupture the human eye.As per this study, “a series of 777 pellet gun ocular injuries occurred over a 4-month period in Kashmir”, and that is when their use came under heavy scrutiny and criticism. Though pellet guns were used to ‘control’ the protests in the erstwhile state in 2010 too.In August 2016, security forces told the Jammu and Kashmir high court that cartridges containing 450 metal pellets each had been used. Human Rights Watch has noted that the “government has refused to release information on the metal used in these cartridges, citing national security concerns, though a doctor in Srinagar said they were usually a ‘lead ball.’ While smaller pellets usually cause painful but superficial injuries, they can also be lethal when they strike vulnerable body parts such as the eyes.”The Leaflet has reported on how “the use of ‘non-lethal’ pellet guns in 2024 farmers protests, in Manipur in 2023 and Kashmir since 2010 has left many severely injured, and has been criticised by international humanitarian law and international human rights scholars.”It is not clear what the RAF’s SOP for use of these guns is, and who has to pass orders for their use. In most cases, such weapons – as is the case with tear gas shells – are fired under explicit orders and supervision of a responsible officer to prevent misuse.The Wire has reached out to the IG, RAF over email to ask what could have caused injuries like Irshad’s, and to comment on the image of the RAF jawan holding a gun. We also tried to reach the RAF headquarters over the phone, but received no response. A CRPF DIG contacted by The Wire said the IG, RAF would be the best person to answer these questions.(This story has been updated.)