Nutan, who has since returned to her home town, Ranchi in Jharkhand, told The Hindu over phone that she was injured “quite severely” and “needed stitches”, adding that “my ear had practically been torn off”.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A 32-year-old woman working with a private firm in Millennium City in Gurugram has alleged that she sustained “gunshot” injuries during the students’ protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on July 20, 2026, adding to claims of pellet gun injuries made by a few other victims at the agitation.
Nutan, who has since returned to her home town, Ranchi in Jharkhand, told The Hindu over phone that she was injured “quite severely” and “needed stitches”, adding that “my ear had practically been torn off”. According to her discharge summary from Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, she suffered “trauma to right ear by gunshot”.
According to Ms. Nutan’s Medical Legal Report, the injuries were caused by a “blunt weapon” and not a firearm, Delhi Police’s Public Relations Officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ranjeev Ranjan said.
Recounting the incident, Ms. Nutan said she was standing with other protesters in the upper section of the park near Jantar Mantar, away from the main protest site.
“I can describe the spot — there is a fountain and a steel statue of a lion. I was standing right next to that, up in the higher part of the park. I was fired at from below. I can’t say for certain if I was the specific target, but the gun was aimed in our direction,” she said. “Seeing that, we all got scared and started running. There were quite a few of us up there, so we were all fleeing together when the shot was fired, and it grazed right past my ear,” she said.
She realised the seriousness of the injury only after her hearing was affected, Ms. Nutan said.
“At that very moment, I realised I had sustained a very serious injury to my ear — I had stopped hearing…When I checked with my hand, I saw heavy bleeding. My hand was covered in blood. I quickly covered the wound with a handkerchief and rushed to the hospital,” she said.
She flagged down an ambulance on the main road and was taken to RML Hospital, where she underwent a two-hour surgery.
“I was hit on the right side. The gun was pointed directly at us — that’s how I knew the injuries were caused by gunshot. I didn’t really know much about rubber bullet guns or pellets, but two people had their guns aimed right at us. They were wearing blue uniforms. The person involved wasn’t wearing a name plate,” she alleged.
She was discharged within 15 minutes of the surgery and was asked to leave, Ms. Nutan further claimed. “I had undergone a two-hour surgery on my ear. But the doctors discharged me within 15 minutes after the surgery and told me to leave,” she said.
She also alleged that she saw police personnel with minor injuries being given stretchers inside the hospital. “While there, I saw four or five police personnel come in. They didn’t have any real injuries — maybe just a slight scratch on a leg or hand, yet they were lying on stretchers, unbuttoning their shirts,” she said.
She returned to RML Hospital for change of dressing over two days but faced difficulties commuting from Gurugram due to roadblocks, Ms. Nutan said.
“I faced harassment. I had to commute daily from Gurugram. You know how difficult the transport situation was — roads were blocked in so many directions, and the commute was a huge struggle. I would leave at 7 a.m., sometimes even 6 a.m., just to reach there (the hospital) by 10 a.m. or 11 a.m.,” she said.
She was still recovering, Ms. Nutan said. “I have stitches all over my ear now. My health has deteriorated significantly since that day,” she said.
Published – July 27, 2026 10:02 pm IST
