Benagluru: The Vidhana Soudha Police in Bengaluru have registered a zero FIR against members of the Uttarakhand BJP and others in connection with an alleged “purification ritual” conducted at Ramlila Ground in Haldwani after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally at the venue.
The FIR was registered on August 31 based on a complaint filed by T R Ramappa, former vice-chairman of the ST Department of the Indian National Congress.
According to the complaint, Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, addressed a public rally at Ramlila Ground in Haldwani, Nainital district, on August 8. The gathering was described by the complainant as a peaceful and lawful democratic assembly.
The complaint alleged that two days later, on August 10, BJP members and functionaries conducted a “purification ritual” or “Shuddhikkaran” at the same venue.
Ramappa alleged that the ritual was intended to convey that Kharge’s presence had made the venue “impure” because he belongs to a Scheduled Caste community. The complaint described the alleged act as an insult and an offence under laws dealing with untouchability.
The complaint also named Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt, alleging that he defended and justified the ritual after it came under criticism.
The police registered the case under Sections 7(1)(c), 7(1)(d) and 7(1)(e) of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955; Section 3(1)(u) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989; and Section 196(1)(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which deals with promoting enmity between different groups, reported NDTV.
Since the case has been registered as a zero FIR, it can be filed at any police station regardless of jurisdiction. The Vidhana Soudha Police said the FIR would be transferred to the jurisdictional police station in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, for further investigation.
The Bengaluru Police will not investigate the case, an officer said, adding that similar FIRs have been registered at at least eight places across the country in connection with the incident.
The development has led to a political confrontation between the Congress and the BJP.
Kharge had raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha on August 13 and later wrote to Leader of the House JP Nadda, questioning the delay in registering an FIR over the alleged incident.
In his letter, Kharge said that the “purification” carried out at the venue where he had addressed the rally was contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and human values. He also linked the practice to untouchability.
Kharge further referred to Dr B R Ambedkar’s Mahad Satyagraha of 1927, which sought to secure the right of untouchables to access drinking water from the public Chawdar Tank in Mahad, Maharashtra.
