Uttarakhand Police File FIR Over 'Purification' of Venue Used by Kharge

Nearly a month after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally in Haldwani, Uttarakhand police have formally registered a case over the alleged "purification" of the venue. The FIR was filed on Monday at the Haldwani Kotwali police station based on a complaint by Anju, a local social activist and lawyer who was the first to lodge a formal written complaint in the matter.

Nainital Superintendent of Police Manjunath TC said the police had received around 80 complaints and petitions from across the state, including 19 from Nainital district. He noted that a legal review of these applications led to the discovery that Anju had already submitted a formal complaint along with relevant video evidence to the Station House Officer.

The FIR has been registered against unknown persons under Section 3(1)(r) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which deals with caste-based insult or humiliation. It also invokes Sections 196 and 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to promoting enmity between different groups and deliberately outraging religious feelings. No individual has been named as an accused in the case.

The complaint alleges that after Kharge, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste category, addressed the rally on August 8, some persons with alleged links to the BJP had the venue "purified" on August 10. Photographs and videos of the ceremony were circulated on social media. The complaint argues that this act "prima facie appears to be an act intended to create caste discrimination, social insult and hatred" towards a person from the Scheduled Caste community.

The complaint also draws attention to a separate social media video, which it describes as "misleading, objectionable and possibly edited," alleging that religious slogans were presented in a manner intended to create hatred towards a particular religious community.

The incident has sparked a national political controversy. The Congress has termed the ceremony an act of caste discrimination, while the organisation behind the cleaning drive, Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas, has denied any political affiliation. The BJP has distanced itself from the group. Kharge raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha, stating the incident made him feel the sting of untouchability.

Meanwhile, in Delhi, a delegation of Dalit Congress MPs and leaders attempted to file an FIR at the Parliament Street police station. Congress leader K Raju said the group, comprising 20 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members, was refused a zero FIR even after two hours of persuasion. Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil contrasted the delay with the swift registration of an FIR against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi last month.

The investigation has been entrusted to Jagdish Chandra, a senior officer recently promoted to the IPS cadre. Police have appealed to all those who submitted applications to note that the investigation is currently underway.