On 20 July 2026, the first day of Parliament's Monsoon Session, Delhi Police and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) used lathi charges, tear gas and pellet rounds to stop the Cockroach Janta Party's "Sansad Chalo" march on Parliament. Police counted 118 security personnel and about 60 protesters injured that day, registered 13 FIRs, and say protesters breached barricades and threw stones. Protesters, rights groups and journalists say force was used on a largely peaceful crowd, including by men in plain clothes.
Key takeaways
- The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) called a march to Parliament on 20 July 2026 to demand Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over the NEET paper leak. Police had not given permission, and prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS were in force.
- Baton charges began at about 7:30 am near the Park Hotel and continued through the day at Sansad Marg, Patel Chowk, the Rail Bhawan roundabout, Connaught Place and Janpath. Tear gas was fired near Raisina Road and the Constitution Club.
- Delhi Police first said "no such incident" of violence or detentions had taken place. Police later counted 118 personnel and about 60 protesters injured, and in a Supreme Court affidavit put the totals at more than 240 personnel and about 200 protesters and members of the public.
- An RAF General Diary entry at Parliament Street police station recorded plastic-pellet rounds fired "on the orders of the DCP", after police had called pellet reports fake. A 19-year-old student was reported at risk of losing sight in one eye.
- Police confirmed that men in plain clothes seen beating protesters with lathis were policemen, and defended the deployment as lawful. On 22 July they ordered all personnel at Jantar Mantar to report in uniform.
Background: why the march was called
The CJP began as a satirical online movement in May 2026 and in early June started a protest at Jantar Mantar demanding Pradhan's resignation over the NEET-UG paper leak and wider exam reform. Activist Sonam Wangchuk joined on 28 June with a hunger strike. Police removed him from the site on 18 July, and the CJP called a march to Parliament for 20 July, the first day of the Monsoon Session. ThePrint The wider story of the movement is on our Cockroach Janta Party protests page.
Police position New Delhi DCP Sachin Sharma said no permission had been sought or granted for any march towards Parliament and warned that violators of the prohibitory orders would face action. Deccan Chronicle
Before dawn, Jantar Mantar was sealed with 8-foot barricades welded together and riot-control vehicles, and hundreds of police in uniform and plain clothes were deployed. The DMRC closed Janpath, Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat and Seva Teerth metro stations. ThePrint
How the day unfolded
First lathi charge near Park Hotel
The first baton charge targeted a crowd moving from Jantar Mantar towards Parliament. Ten minutes earlier, CJP leaders said about a lakh supporters had gathered and the protest would stay peaceful. Police then announced that gathering outside the designated site violated Section 163 of the BNSS. ThePrint
Police deny use of force
Police position Delhi Police posted on X that media reports of "sporadic use of violence/detentions at Jantar Mantar" were wrong: "no such incident has taken place and protest is being handled professionally." The Wire
Barricades breached on Tolstoy Marg and Sansad Marg
A police source told the Indian Express there were three barricade lines, at Tolstoy Marg, on Sansad Marg and near Transport Bhawan. Protesters broke the first two, and police say they used force only when the crowd moved towards Transport Bhawan, a high-security zone. Business Today
Tear gas at Raisina Road, heavy lathi charge at Patel Chowk
Protesters reached the Raisina Road roundabout and the Constitution Club, where police fired tear gas. Patel Chowk metro station saw one of the heaviest lathi charges of the day. ThePrint Tear gas near the Constitution Club affected passengers at Central Secretariat metro station. The Wire
Journalist detained near Krishi Bhawan
Molitics editor Neeraj Jha told BOOM he was picked up near Krishi Bhawan after recording police action, taken to Burari police station and later moved to Chhatrasal Stadium. BOOM
The nail-fitted baton video
Near Gate 3 of Janpath metro station, a UPSC aspirant filmed protesters showing a baton with nails fitted into it. BOOM confirmed from metadata and GPS that it was filmed at the protest, but said the video does not establish who fitted the nails or whether police used it. BOOM Police later told the Supreme Court the object was a stick carrying the National Flag, in a protester's hands. Outlook See our fact check.
Detentions and hospital admissions
Police sources said more than 100 protesters were detained from Parliament Street, Patel Chowk, Constitution Club, Shastri Bhawan and nearby areas and taken to police stations and temporary detention centres. Injured police and protesters were taken to hospital. Deccan Chronicle
What force was used, and what is documented
Lathi charges
Documented Police and RAF personnel carried out repeated baton charges. An internal New Delhi district police report said clashes took place at four places: Sansad Marg, the Rail Bhawan roundabout, Jantar Mantar and the Connaught Place Outer Circle-Janpath stretch, and that police used "mild force". Business Today
Claim · witnesses to HRW A 24-year-old photojournalist told Human Rights Watch: "I saw male police officers bashing up women. The women were entreating with folded hands and still police officers were beating them up." A law student described a crush in which two women fell and were stepped on. HRW
Tear gas
The RAF General Diary entry records 55 non-electrical shells, 15 electrical shells and five tear-smoke grenades fired on the orders of a DCP. Outlook HRW verified a video in which a possible tear gas canister bursts among protesters sitting on the ground, knocking one off his feet. HRW Claim · Amnesty International Witnesses said grenades were launched directly at protesters rather than in an arc overhead. Al Jazeera
Pellet rounds
Police position at the time Delhi Police called reports of pellet injuries "fake news" and "completely false and misleading". Al Jazeera
Documented The RAF diary entry, registered at Parliament Street police station and reported by The Hindu, recorded "two rounds using ballistic cartridges with plastic pellets from an anti-riot gun" fired "on the orders of the DCP". Sahil Lochab, 19, was reported at risk of losing vision in his right eye after a pellet pierced his pupil. Outlook A CRPF internal finding reported by the Indian Express said one RAF officer near Connaught Place fired a pellet gun seven times, with five rounds striking protesters. Newsreel Asia Amnesty's Evidence Lab verified two videos of an RAF officer firing a shotgun into the crowd at the Connaught Place and Parliament Street intersection. Al Jazeera Our pellet fact check has more.
Men in plain clothes with lathis
Videos showed men without uniform beating protesters with sticks, including one apparently shot at Connaught Place. Police position Senior officers confirmed to ThePrint that the men were policemen from "special staff" deployed as reinforcements, and said this was "neither illegal nor unprecedented". ThePrint In the Supreme Court, police described them as "spotters" from the Special Branch, Special Cell, Crime Branch and local police who had merged with the crowd. Outlook
HRW verified a video of three men in civilian clothes holding plastic batons, at least one beating protesters alongside police, and said many police and RAF personnel wore no name tags. HRW On 22 July Delhi Police headquarters told all units to send personnel to Jantar Mantar only in uniform. Business Today
Stones thrown by both sides
Documented HRW verified videos of security officers pelting protesters with stones, and a separate video of protesters beating and piling onto a police officer. HRW On 23 July police confirmed a viral CCTV clip showing stone-pelting and smashed windows at shops and a petrol pump during the march. ANI
What the footage shows
Claim · circulating videos A large number of short clips dated 20 July have circulated online. Going by their captions, and by news reports that describe similar videos, they show the following kinds of incidents. We have not verified each clip ourselves, and captions are not findings of fact.
- Police and RAF personnel lathi-charging protesters on Sansad Marg, at Patel Chowk, at Jantar Mantar and outside Parliament Street police station, including protesters sitting on the road.
- Tear gas fired at protesters on Sansad Marg and near Jantar Mantar, and people suffering its effects.
- Men in plain clothes, some with faces covered by handkerchiefs, striking protesters with lathis in Connaught Place, including near Palika Bazaar.
- Women protesters being dragged and hit, and injured protesters showing head wounds and describing assaults.
- Uniformed personnel throwing stones towards protesters in Connaught Place.
- Students being detained near Nizamuddin on their way to the protest.
Several of these kinds of scenes are confirmed by independent verification: HRW verified videos of baton use, tear gas and security officers throwing stones, and of plainclothes men with batons. HRW AP reported footage of young protesters "crying and pleading with officers not to hit them". AP/PBS Police say such material is "selective" and "incomplete" and does not show what came before. Outlook Some viral claims from the day were false, such as posts saying seven protesters died. See our fact check.
Injuries: who counted what
20 July injuries, by source
Delhi Police said nearly 180 people were injured, including 118 security personnel and 60 protesters. AP/PBS ANI reported that the injured officers included ranks up to Special Commissioner. ANI In its August counter-affidavit, police put injuries at more than 240 police and uniformed personnel and about 200 protesters and members of the public. Outlook HRW said one young woman protester was in critical condition. HRW
Protesters' account
The CJP and protesters say police used force without provocation on a peaceful crowd. "The protesters were just sitting there, begging the police not to beat them," a lawyer told HRW. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said police baton-charged after protesters had been invited for talks, and that male officers beat women. Mobile internet in central Delhi was cut, which protesters say made it hard to find friends in the crush. HRW AP/PBS The Wire
Police and government account
Police say the march had no permission, the crowd breached successive barricades, and the gathering became an unlawful assembly. They say about 5,000 personnel faced more than 30,000 protesters over about 3 km, that protesters pulled off officers' protective gear and pushed them onto pavements, and that force was "graded". They say 2,873 people at the site had criminal cases against them, a claim that has not been independently verified. Outlook See our fact check on that claim.
Outcome so far
- FIRs: Delhi Police registered 13 FIRs over violence during the march. Free Press Journal
- No further action: On 30 July the Delhi government told police to take no further adverse legal action against protesters, except those with criminal antecedents. Free Press Journal
- Supreme Court: On 21 July the court declined to hear a plea on police abuses, saying "don't waste our time". HRW On 28 July it ordered states to release detained minors and students without criminal antecedents, barred coercive action for the time being, ordered evidence preserved, and said the allegations prima facie warranted an independent probe. Open
- Internal review: An internal review reportedly found the RAF's crowd-control approach fell short of standard training. Newsreel Asia
- Pending: Police told the court that whether force was excessive could be examined by a committee the court proposed, and said it would cooperate. Outlook
Questions people ask
What happened in Delhi on 20 July 2026?
The Cockroach Janta Party marched towards Parliament to demand the Education Minister's resignation over the NEET paper leak. Police, who had not allowed the march, used lathi charges, tear gas and pellet rounds, and protesters threw stones. Police counted 118 personnel and about 60 protesters injured.
Did police use pellet guns on 20 July?
Yes, according to an RAF General Diary entry recording plastic-pellet rounds fired on a DCP's orders, and a CRPF internal finding. Police had first called pellet reports fake news.
Were the men in plain clothes beating protesters police officers?
Yes. Delhi Police confirmed they were policemen and told the Supreme Court they were "spotters" from several units. It says the deployment was lawful.
How many people were detained on 20 July?
Police sources said more than 100 protesters were detained and taken to police stations and temporary centres. Earlier in the day police had denied any detentions.
Has anyone been punished for the police action?
No disciplinary outcome had been reported by October 2026. The Supreme Court is hearing petitions, and police say a court-appointed committee can examine whether force was excessive.
Sources
- ThePrint: What happened during CJP's 'Chalo Sansad': Top 10 developments, 20 Jul 2026
- The Wire: As images of lathicharge, tear gas surface, Delhi Police says no 'sporadic use of violence', 20 Jul 2026
- Deccan Chronicle: Over 50 police, protesters injured during CJP march; 100+ detained, 20 Jul 2026
- AP via PBS: India's youth-led Cockroach movement vows to continue protest after police crackdown, 21 Jul 2026
- ThePrint: Lathi-wielding plainclothes cops spark row; police say deployment lawful, 21 Jul 2026
- BOOM: Batons with nails, Delhi Police calls real CJP protest video 'fake', 22 Jul 2026
- Business Today: Delhi Police asks personnel to wear uniform for Jantar Mantar duty, 22 Jul 2026
- Human Rights Watch: India: Excessive force used against student protesters, 23 Jul 2026
- ANI: Delhi Police confirms targeting of personnel during July 20 protests, 23 Jul 2026
- Newsreel Asia: CJP protests, key developments after Pradhan's resignation, 27 Jul 2026
- Outlook: Delhi Police ordered RAF to fire pellet guns, reveals general diary entry, 28 Jul 2026
- Open: Supreme Court orders release of minors held in NEET protest crackdown, 28 Jul 2026
- Free Press Journal: Delhi government orders no adverse action against CJP protesters, 30 Jul 2026
- Outlook: Delhi Police defends 'graded' force, says crowd breached barricades, 18 Aug 2026
- Al Jazeera: India used pellets, grenades on Gen Z protests: what Amnesty report reveals, 24 Aug 2026