'Zero FIR' filed against BJP members over 'purification' ritual
A Zero FIR was registered on Friday against members of the Uttarakhand unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and others over an alleged “purification” ritual conducted at a venue after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally there, police said.
The case was registered at Vidhana Soudha Police Station following a complaint filed on August 31 by T R Ramappa, former vice-chairman of the Scheduled Tribe Department of the Adivasi Congress.
A Zero FIR allows a complaint to be registered at any police station irrespective of where the alleged offence took place or which police station has jurisdiction over the matter. The case can subsequently be transferred to the appropriate police station for investigation.
According to the complaint, Kharge, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and national president of the Indian National Congress, addressed a large public rally at Ramlila Ground in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, on August 8.
The complainant described the gathering as a peaceful and lawful democratic assembly.
However, according to the FIR, members and functionaries of the BJP allegedly organised a 'Shuddhikaran' or purification ritual at the same venue on August 10, two days after the rally.
Ramappa alleged that the ritual was intended to suggest that the presence of Kharge, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste community, had made the venue “impure” and that it therefore required ritual cleansing.
The complaint described the alleged act as deeply insulting and casteist, arguing that it amounted to an attack on Kharge’s dignity and social standing.
The complaint also named Mahendra Bhatt, president of the Uttarakhand BJP, alleging that he publicly defended and justified the ritual in statements to the media. Ramappa alleged that Bhatt’s comments reinforced and legitimised the alleged discriminatory message.
Following the complaint, police sought a legal opinion before registering the case. A senior police officer said the FIR was filed under relevant provisions of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and Section 196(1)(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The latter provision deals with acts that promote enmity between different groups and those prejudicial to the maintenance of social harmony.
with inputs from PTI
