NEW DELHI: For nearly 12 hours, Jyoti Lochab ran from one hospital to another, pleading for someone to admit her 19-year-old son, who suffered what doctors said were “pellet-like injuries” to his right eye during the July 20 Sansad Chalo march.“He was lying there in pain while we kept being sent from one hospital to another. He kept telling me, ‘Mummy, meri aankh mein bahut dard hai.’ We folded our hands before doctors. Somehow, after spending the entire night running around, AIIMS admitted him,” she said.Delhi Police has denied allegations that pellet guns were used during the protest.Jyoti said she tried calling Sahil repeatedly that afternoon after asking him not to attend the march, but he did not answer. “We told him there could be violence and asked him not to go. But he said, ‘I’m also a student. I’ve also appeared for these exams. I should go’,” she recalled.Around 5.30 pm, she received a call from a friend of his, informing her that Sahil was admitted to Lady Hardinge Hospital. She and her brother rushed to the hospital.On Thursday, the teenager lay on a hospital bed with his right eye covered by a thick white bandage. Tiny marks were visible across his neck and upper chest.A day after undergoing surgery, Sahil recounted how a day he believed would be just another student protest changed the course of his life.“Around 3.30pm, something struck my arm and eye. My face was turned away. My arm went numb instantly. I couldn’t think properly… When I touched my eye, I felt like it was coming out. I held it in place with my hand and started running. I stopped a biker and requested him to take me to Lady Hardinge Hospital,” he said.The family’s ordeal had only begun. Jyoti said doctors at Lady Hardinge Hospital conducted preliminary examinations before asking them to shift Sahil elsewhere, saying specialised eye treatment was unavailable. The family then rushed him to two other hospitals, where Jyoti said she was told no eye specialists were available at night. They eventually turned to AIIMS where, after first being sent to the eye centre and then back to the trauma centre, Sahil was finally admitted around 4-5am the following morning.A distance-learning student, Sahil had appeared for the SSC examination last year, which was later cancelled amid allegations of irregularities, and believed students deserved justice. “I had hoped to join the police or another uniformed force. If I lose my eye, that dream is over,” he said. The family’s fears have only deepened after doctors informed them the chances of restoring vision in his right eye were slim.Originally from Haryana, the family lives in a rented accommodation in Najafgarh. Sahil is the eldest of three siblings. His mother said the family had pinned its hopes on him securing a govt job.“His father works as a driver. Doctors have told us there is less than a 1% chance of saving his eye. I only want the govt to help him with compensation and a govt job,” she said, adding that neither the govt nor CJP had reached out yet.Sahil is the fourth reported case of pellet-like injuries from the Parliament march. A doctor on duty at AIIMS Trauma Centre said Sahil’s condition was stable and he is being managed with antibiotics and pain medication, but multiple pellet-like objects are still lodged beneath his skin and further treatment would be decided by specialists.
