NEW DELHI: Indian police used excessive force, including pellet guns and electric shock devices, against youth-led protesters during demonstrations that eventually forced the country’s education minister to resign, Amnesty International said on Monday.
The rights organisation said its investigation, based on witness accounts and verified visual material, documented the use of pellet-firing shotguns, tear gas, grenades, batons and electric shock devices against demonstrators in New Delhi and Bihar.
The findings challenge the official police account of the July 20 violence. Delhi Police told India’s Supreme Court that officers deployed force only after protesters became violent and security personnel were attacked.
The demonstrations began over the alleged leak of India’s national medical entrance examination and quickly developed into a wider youth movement. Thousands of protesters marched towards Parliament in New Delhi on July 20, with clashes breaking out as security forces attempted to stop the march.
Amnesty said it found evidence of isolated incidents in which protesters threw stones, but argued that the scale and nature of the police response went far beyond what was necessary to control the unrest.
The organisation also said it had verified two incidents in Bihar’s Siwan district in which a police officer allegedly used lethal force against a crowd in violation of international law and domestic policing guidelines. No deaths were reported in those incidents.
Amnesty described the response as state-sanctioned violence disguised as crowd control, while calling for accountability and an independent investigation into allegations of unlawful force.
Indian police have rejected the broader allegations. During a Supreme Court hearing last week, Delhi Police maintained that officers acted only after demonstrators resorted to violence. Authorities also alleged that anti-social elements had joined the protests while presenting themselves as students, causing serious injuries to security personnel.
The controversy has since moved into the political arena. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi staged a sit-in outside a Delhi police station on Friday alongside a 19-year-old protester who said he had been injured by pellets during the July 20 demonstration. Gandhi demanded an investigation into the alleged shooting, after which police registered a case based on the complaint.
The protests, led by the online Cockroach Janta Party, expanded beyond the examination controversy, drawing attention to youth unemployment, limited opportunities and concerns over the direction of India’s government.
The unrest has emerged as one of the most significant political challenges faced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he secured a third term in office in 2024.
Meanwhile, India’s Supreme Court has established a panel to investigate violence involving both protesters and police, potentially providing an independent assessment of the competing claims.
