Purna Singh New Delhi

Congressleader Rahul Gandhi ended his over-six-hour dharna at the Parliament Street police station here on Friday, after an FIR was registered on a complaint from a young man who has suffered pellet injuries and said this is the first step towards justice. Gandhi sat on the dharna outside the police station after police refused to lodge an FIR on 19-year-old Sahil Lochab's complaint.

"This is the first step towards justice and a case has been registered," Gandhi said, soon after the Delhi Police registered the FIR. "There are pellets in his body and he cannot even see as he has suffered injuries in his eye. This is injustice with this youngster.

For almost a month, he has been calling for the registration of an FIR and moving from one police station to another. "After hours of protest, an FIR has been registered. One can imagine what the people of the country suffer when they seek justice. There are several rape victims and victims of intimidation and they continue to fight while seeking justice," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

Gandhi, who had earlier alleged that police are "under pressure from the top" for not registering a complaint, claimed that the FIR was lodged only after clearance from top authorities in the home ministry.

"The final FIR has been registered after an okay from the home secretary and (Home Minister) Amit Shah, then you can imagine who was stopping the registration of an FIR as these cops wanted to do so but were not allowed to do so," he said. The Delhi Police registered the FIR in connection with the pellet injuries suffered by Lochab during the July 20 students' protest at Jantar Mantar.

"We have registered an FIR under sections 118 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 25 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita," a police officer said.