BENGALURU: A Zero FIR was registered on Friday against Uttarakhand BJP members and others over an alleged “purification” ritual held at a venue in Haldwani after AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a rally there, police said.The case was registered following a complaint filed by TR Ramappa, former vice-chairman of the ST Department (Adivasi Congress) of the Indian National Congress, at Vidhana Soudha Police Station on August 31, news agency PTI reported quoting police.As per the PTI report, a Zero FIR can be registered at any police station irrespective of where the alleged offence took place or the jurisdiction of the station, officials said.According to the FIR, Kharge, 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 rally was a peaceful and democratic public assembly, duly conducted in accordance with the law and without any unlawful incident, the FIR stated.However, certain members and functionaries of the BJP allegedly organised a “purification ritual” or “Shuddhikaran” at the same venue on August 10, the FIR said.The complainant alleged that the ritual was intended to convey the “deeply offensive, derogatory and casteist notion” that Kharge, a member of a Scheduled Caste community, had rendered the venue “impure” and that it therefore required ritualistic cleansing.Such conduct, if established, was not merely “objectionable” but constituted a “deliberate” and “deeply insulting” act directed against Kharge’s dignity and social status, the complainant alleged, adding that it was liable to attract consequences under applicable law.The complaint also named Mahendra Bhatt, president of the BJP in Uttarakhand, alleging that he publicly defended and justified the ritual.“Compounding the gravity of the aforesaid egregious act, Sri Mahendra Bhatt, in his capacity as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttarakhand, has, through public statements made to the media, brazenly defended, justified and endorsed the aforesaid purification ritual. By publicly supporting and seeking to justify such an objectionable act, he has not only lent his authority and tacit official imprimatur to the said conduct, but has also reinforced, legitimised and amplified its inherently hateful, casteist and discriminatory message...,” the complainant further alleged.Based on the complaint, police sought a legal opinion before registering the case, a senior police officer said, according to PTI.The FIR was registered against Uttarakhand State BJP members and others under relevant provisions of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and Section 196(1)(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Section 196(1)(b) relates to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds including religion, race, place of birth, residence and language, and doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony, police said.acquisitions(With agency inputs)
