The Congress on Wednesday ended its nearly two-day protest at the Jaipur Police Commissionerate after police said in writing that a zero FIR could not be registered over the alleged assault on NSUI leader Ritu Barala by Delhi Police personnel, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
Police said Barala had already filed a complaint about the incident in Delhi and the matter was under investigation there. The Congress said it would approach the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court, alleging that police had wrongly interpreted Section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra and other party leaders ended the protest after Jaipur Police handed them a written response. They had been at the commissionerate since Monday evening.
“Our demand was that an FIR should be registered, but police have given us in writing that since a complaint has already been lodged in Delhi, an FIR cannot be registered here. We will now approach the court,” Dotasra told reporters, according to PTI.
He said the Congress would seek a judicial interpretation of the legal provision and pursue the registration of an FIR in the case.
“The officials have wrongly interpreted the law. We will approach the High Court and Supreme Court for registration of the case and interpretation of the law. We have no option left but to go to court and we will ensure justice for Ritu Barala,” he said.
Dotasra also said the party would initiate legal action against police officers who, according to him, had wrongly interpreted the law and prevented the registration of the FIR.
Recounting the events leading to the protest, Dotasra said the station house officer of Moti Dungri police station had refused to register the FIR on Monday evening and asked Congress leaders to obtain orders from the police commissioner.
“We came to meet the commissioner, but he was not there. The additional commissioner asked us to wait, but he too left without informing us of anything,” he alleged.
Dotasra said the leaders remained at the commissionerate for two nights, but police did not clearly communicate their decision until Tuesday. “If an FIR could not be registered, they should have told us on the first day,” he said.
He alleged that police officials were acting at the behest of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Dotasra also claimed that neither the police commissioner nor Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, who holds the home portfolio, nor other senior officials responded to their phone calls. He accused the government of ignoring a woman’s demand for justice.
The Congress leaders began their protest on Monday evening after Moti Dungri police station received Barala’s complaint but did not register an FIR. Dotasra, Barala and other party leaders spent two consecutive nights at the commissionerate, sleeping in a corridor.
The protest intensified on Tuesday as a large number of Congress workers gathered outside the commissionerate, raised slogans and demanded the registration of an FIR. Scuffles broke out between party workers and police on a couple of occasions, affecting traffic in the area. Police used mild force late on Tuesday night to disperse workers gathered outside the premises.
Jaipur Police told PTI that Barala had submitted a complaint at Connaught Place police station in Delhi on October 13 and that the matter was under investigation there. Police said registering another FIR in Rajasthan based on the same facts would not be legally permissible.
Barala has alleged that women constables of Delhi Police assaulted her during a National Students’ Union of India protest in the national capital on October 13. The NSUI held the protest near Rajiv Chowk Metro station, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had asked Dotasra to pursue legal action over the alleged assault on Barala, who is from Rajasthan.
The Congress ended its protest after receiving Jaipur Police’s written refusal to register a zero FIR, but said it would move the High Court and the Supreme Court to seek registration of the case and an interpretation of the legal provision cited by police.
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