NEW DELHI: A 25-year-old protester, Sheikh Irshad Mansoori, was discharged from Lady Hardinge Hospital on Friday, four days after undergoing surgery to remove pellets from his face and neck following injuries sustained during the July 20 protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.Mansoori still had a bloodshot left eye and healing wounds on his forehead, cheeks and nose. Wearing a white shirt with blue-checked hospital trousers, he slowly made his way home to Gurugram, where he has been living since 2022 and works as an accounts manager at a private company.Originally from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, Mansoori completed his BSc and MBA before moving to the National Capital Region (NCR) for work. During his hospital stay, access to the special ward where he was admitted remained restricted, limiting details about his condition.Recalling the events of July 20 during the CJP’s “Sansad Chalo” march in central Delhi, Mansoori said clashes broke out after police stopped protesters from moving towards Parliament.“I had just reached the Inner Circle when police started pushing everyone back. We all raised our hands and kept telling them, ‘Sir, please stop. We are not terrorists. We are only protesting’,” Mansoori said, adding that he was hit in the face while standing with his hands raised.“It struck my left eyebrow and shattered into several pieces. Fragments entered different parts of my face. Another piece hit my chin,” he said.Other protesters took him to Lady Hardinge Hospital, where doctors stopped the bleeding and conducted scans. Mansoori said doctors informed him that three pellets had lodged close to sensitive areas — one near a major nerve and blood vessel in his neck, another near the muscle controlling movement of his left eye, and a third inside the facial cavity near his nose.“They advised immediate surgery,” he said.The surgery was carried out the next day after doctors stabilised him overnight.“The pellets were removed from my face and neck. I still have stitches on my neck, inside my eye and inside my mouth. I can see properly now, although my eye is still red because of the surgery,” he said.The Delhi Police has denied using pellet guns against protesters during the march. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), whose Rapid Action Force was deployed at the site, did not respond to queries regarding the alleged use of pellet guns.A pellet gun fires cartridges containing up to 600 metal or rubber pellets, which spread widely when fired at high speed. Standard operating procedures require it to be used from a minimum distance of 500 feet and aimed below the waist.Mansoori was not the only protester to suffer serious injuries during the demonstration.Ten-year-old Sahil Lochab from Najafgarh was also injured after a pellet hit his right eye. He suffered injuries to his face, neck, chest, shoulder and arm and was first taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College before being shifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.Doctors said the pellet caused a full-thickness perforation of his cornea, leaving him unable to see from that eye. He has undergone one surgery and may require another procedure.At Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, 21-year-old Sakshi, who sustained critical injuries during a stampede-like situation near Jantar Mantar and Tolstoy Marg, has been taken off ventilator support.The protest march was part of the CJP-led agitation that began on June 20 at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. The group has been demanding accountability over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, reforms in the education system and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.