Amnesty International Investigation Exposes Unlawful and Deadly Police Force Against CJP-Led Protests in India

A new digital investigation by Amnesty International has documented the unlawful and excessive use of force, including pellet-firing shotguns, tear gas, and live firearms, by Indian law enforcement against peaceful Cockroach Janata Party-led protesters in Delhi and Bihar. Despite extensive video evidence and reports of over 400 injuries, Indian authorities have denied the allegations and failed to hold a single officer accountable after more than a month. Human rights groups are calling for an immediate end to the deployment of birdshot ammunition and electric shock devices, alongside a prompt, impartial inquiry into police actions.

RMN News Human Rights Desk
New Delhi | August 25, 2026

Unlawful Crowd Control and Police Impunity

A digital investigation by Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab has revealed that Indian police deployed unlawful and deadly force against peaceful protesters during the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led “Chalo Sansad” march. One month after these events, not a single police officer in Delhi has been held accountable for these actions.

The investigation verified that between July 20 and July 24, 2026, security personnel deployed weapons including pellet-firing shotguns, tear gas launchers, grenades, batons, and electric shock devices in Delhi and Siwan town in Bihar state. These actions violated international law, human rights standards, and domestic policing guidelines.

Despite video and photographic evidence, the Delhi Police publicly denied any disproportionate use of force on social media, repeated these denials before the Supreme Court of India, and described their handling of the protests as “professional.”

Aakar Patel, Chair of the Board of Amnesty International India, stated that the state-sanctioned violence was masked as crowd control. He noted that authorities suppressed the assembly with communication blackouts, barricades, and transport disruptions before attempting to crush the protest with unnecessary or excessive force.

Verification of Pellet-Firing Shotguns

Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab verified 17 videos filmed on July 20 in central Delhi, identifying personnel from the Delhi Police, the Rapid Action Force (RAF), and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Key findings from the Evidence Lab include:

• Shotgun Deployment: Verified footage shows an RAF officer firing a shotgun directly into a crowd at the intersection of Connaught Place and Sansad Marg.
• Birdshot Injuries: Verified media showed protesters with injuries consistent with birdshot, a hunting ammunition that fires small metal pellets.
• Lack of Warning: An injured protester who sustained 25 to 30 pellet wounds near Connaught Place testified that RAF officers fired without warning, in direct violation of international standards and India’s Bureau of Police Research and Development guidelines.
• Official Contradictions: While Delhi Police issued a “Fake News Alert” on social media calling pellet gun reports false, internal documents and reports contradicted this. The national newspaper The Hindu reported that an RAF unit fired two ballistic cartridges with plastic pellets alongside dozens of crowd-control shells. A subsequent internal CRPF inquiry confirmed that RAF personnel fired at least seven rounds of ammunition containing metal pellets. Furthermore, a Right to Information (RTI) response revealed that at least ten people were injured by pellets on July 20.

Widespread Misuse of Batons and Electric Shock Weapons

The investigation documented frequent misuse of long, flexible batons, known as lathis, which are used to deliver heavy kinetic force. Verified videos show Delhi Police and RAF officers hitting peaceful protesters, including a young boy, indiscriminately across all parts of their bodies.

In some verified footage, men in plain clothes wearing black helmets labeled “Delhi Police” beat protesters with batons while uniformed officers escorted them and failed to intervene. This lack of visible identification violates basic law enforcement accountability principles.

Additionally, verified video confirmed an RAF officer using an electric shock baton on a peaceful protester. Amnesty International, alongside the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, has called for a total prohibition on lathis and direct-contact electric shock devices, which serve no legitimate law enforcement purpose and carry high risks of severe suffering and permanent injury.

Lethal Force in Bihar

In Siwan, Bihar, the investigation verified two videos from July 24 showing a state police officer firing an AK-type assault rifle toward protesters. Under international law, such firearms are designed to kill and may only be used as a last resort to counter an imminent threat of death or serious injury. Amnesty International found no evidence of any such threat in Siwan.

The violence in Bihar left at least three people injured, including a bystander who sustained a bullet wound to the neck. The officer involved was subsequently suspended after video of the incident circulated online.

Systemic Obstacles to Peaceful Assembly

Prior to the march, Indian authorities denied permission for the assembly, shut down internet access in the protest zones, issued orders prohibiting gatherings of more than five people, closed Delhi metro stations, and built extensive barricades. According to international human rights standards, peaceful assemblies should not be subject to prior authorization, and blanket bans do not meet the legal requirements of necessity and proportionality.

According to Delhi Police reports, the clashes injured more than 400 people, including both protesters and police personnel.

The use of pellet-firing shotguns has a controversial history in India, notably in Jammu and Kashmir, where their use for crowd control caused widespread blindings and fatalities. While a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) committee recommended restricting their use to the “rarest of rare cases” in 2016, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recommended ending their use in 2018, law enforcement agencies have continued to deploy them. A petition seeking to decommission pellet shotguns remains pending before the Supreme Court of India.

Political Response and Demands for Justice

The political fallout from the police response has reached high levels. On August 21, 2026, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi staged a sit-in at the Parliament Street DCP office in New Delhi alongside Sahil Lochab, a 19-year-old student who suffered severe pellet gun injuries during the CJP march. Following this protest, the Congress party claimed that the police registered a First Information Report (FIR) regarding the incident.

Amnesty International continues to call on Indian authorities to order a prompt, impartial, and effective investigation into the use of firearms, birdshot, tear gas, lathis, and electric shock weapons, and to immediately cease the deployment of birdshot and direct-contact electric shock devices.