Social media has erupted over claims that expired tear gas shells may have been used during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest in Delhi.
This came to the fore when several videos and images circulated online where protesters claimed a tear gas shell recovered after Monday's clashes had an expiry date of December 2025. CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka took a screenshot of an Instagram reel on social media and pointed out the alleged markings on the shell.
According to the image shared online, the shell was made in December 2022 and had an expiry date of December 2025. The item was reportedly part of a tear gas shell used during the clashes between protesters and security personnel.
The claims, however, have not been independently verified, and there has been no official confirmation that Delhi police used expired tear gas shells during the protest.
But the allegations have triggered a wider debate in the police about the response to CJP’s agitation that has been going on for over a month. The protest started with demands for accountability on the supposed NEET-UG paper leak and calls for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The protest activity intensified after the “Sansad Chalo” march on 20 July, when thousands of protesters attempted to proceed to Parliament. There was later a clash between protesters and police and both of them sustained injuries.
The controversy over the alleged tear gas shells comes amid growing scrutiny of the events surrounding the protest. Protesters have accused authorities of using excessive force, while police officials have raised questions about possible vandalism and the alleged presence of miscreants in the crowd.
Professor and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk had also joined the larger movement and launched a hunger strike. He was taken to Safdarjung Hospital last weekend by police and continued his protest there. On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court was hearing a petition filed by his wife Getanjali Angmo, demanding that he be moved to a private hospital.
Did @DelhiPolice use expired tear gas shells yesterday? pic.twitter.com/fXENUhM4WF
— Ashutosh Ranka (@AshutoshRanka) July 21, 2026
The image of the supposed tear gas shell was shared on X by Ashutosh Ranka and has received over 500,000 views. The post triggered a torrent of reactions when users asked for an explanation from the authorities.
Some social media users said the police were putting protesters at risk and the authorities’ use of expired equipment was not right. Some also called for an independent inquiry into the authenticity of the shell and the circumstances in which it was recovered.
The question now is whether the shell from the viral image was actually deployed at the protest and whether its expiry date can be independently confirmed. The authorities have not, so far, publicly admitted that expired tear gas shells were deployed against protesters.
As the controversy goes online, the incident shows that the evidence must be examined in full. Any investigation would need to see whether the shell is genuine, what its manufacturing and expiry were, the circumstances of its recovery and whether it was actually fired during the CJP protest.
Until such verification is done, there is no doubt about the existence of this claim, but it is still not a fact, and the controversy will only add to the growing doubts about the police’s response to the violent clashes that arose from the CJP’s march in Delhi.
