New Delhi, August 23, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone has written an open letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, appreciating his intervention that led to the registration of an FIR following an alleged pellet injury during a protest in Delhi, while questioning the perceived lack of similar concern for pellet victims in Kashmir.
In his letter to the Leader of the Opposition, Lone said he welcomed Gandhi’s intervention and noted that the injury sustained by the young protester in Delhi was fortunately not serious. He then contrasted the incident with the much larger number of people injured by pellet firing during unrest in Kashmir.
Lone cited figures reported by the then Jammu and Kashmir government, saying 6,221 people were injured by pellet firing between 2016 and 2017, including 782 who suffered eye injuries. He said hundreds permanently lost their eyesight and thousands were left with lifelong disabilities.
Recalling the use of pellet guns during the 2010 unrest, Lone said the practice resulted in dozens of people being blinded and hundreds suffering serious injuries.
“Why was the same concern not shown for those Kashmiris who were blinded or grievously injured? Are Kashmiris less human than others in this country?” Lone asked.
He urged Gandhi to visit Kashmir, raise the issue of pellet victims and even attempt to register an FIR to draw attention to those he described as forgotten victims.
Lone also criticised the National Conference and Peoples Democratic Party, alleging that neither had apologised for the pellet incidents of 2010 and 2016 despite being in alliances with national parties at the time and holding the Home Department. Both parties are currently part of the INDIA bloc.
“Please do not attribute any motives. My hand on my heart, I really want you to do well,” Lone wrote, while urging Gandhi to extend the same concern to people in Kashmir.
He concluded by calling for equal application of the law and an end to what he described as selective justice.
“The Kashmiris are not lesser human beings. Let law be the same for all,” Lone said.
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