Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], October 20 (ANI): Rajasthan Congress leaders continued their protest at the Jaipur Police Commissionerate on Tuesday, demanding the registration of a Zero FIR over the alleged assault on NSUI National Secretary Ritu Barala by female police personnel during a demonstration in Delhi.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Tika Ram Jully said he was heading from Alwar to the Jaipur Police Commissionerate to seek justice for Barala and appealed to people to join the protest.
In a post on X, Jully said, “I am heading from Alwar to the Jaipur Police Commissionerate to seek justice for Rajasthan’s daughter Ritu Barala. My appeal to the common people of the state is to reach the Jaipur Police Commissionerate in the largest possible numbers and raise your voice in this fight to ensure justice for the state’s daughter. I am also coming, you come too! Two laws cannot run in the country! Neither will the Constitution bow before the arrogance of power of the BJP, nor will the voice of justice be suppressed. Until justice is served, we will neither bow, nor stop, nor tolerate injustice!”
Congress leader Dharmendra Singh Rathore criticised the alleged assault on Barala and questioned the need for senior party leaders to protest to get an FIR registered.
He said the party would continue to demand legal action in the matter.
“It is truly unfortunate. The Congress party is committed to safeguarding the Constitution and protecting democracy… Ritu Barala has been subjected to a violent assault. We have a legal right, granted to us by the Constitution, to have an FIR registered in this matter… What kind of justice is this, where the state party president, along with various other Congress leaders, including a former Chief Minister, are forced to protest just to get an FIR registered? There could be nothing more shameful for this government… Our demand is simple: they must register the FIR immediately and then proceed with an investigation.”
Congress leader Pratap Singh Khachariyawas alleged that party leaders had been waiting at the Commissionerate since the previous night for the registration of a Zero FIR and accused senior officials of remaining unavailable.
“The Police Commissionerate of the capital, Jaipur, holds distinct constitutional authority. Yet, the Commissioner is nowhere to be found… The entire Congress party has been waiting here since last night, hoping to get a ‘Zero FIR’ registered for Ritu Barala, a young woman and a student at Rajasthan University. The Chief Minister, his Ministers, their representatives, and the police; no one is willing to engage. They have simply abandoned the Commissionerate, leaving it entirely to us… Yesterday, Rafiq Khan, Amin, and others went to the police station to request the registration of a ‘Zero FIR.’
He further said, “The police merely recorded a complaint but refused to register a ‘Zero FIR.’ When they subsequently arrived here at the Commissionerate, they were simply told to sit and wait. We have been waiting, yet all the senior officials have left the premises, abandoning the Commissionerate entirely to us… Congress stands firm on the streets, standing in solidarity with Rahul Gandhi. We will fight in Delhi; we will fight on the streets of Jaipur… If you dare to manhandle or assault our daughters and destroy law and order, then the Congress will fight across the nation.”
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader Ashok Gehlot also joined a Congress delegation led by State Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra at the Jaipur Police Commissionerate.
The alleged assault on NSUI National Secretary Ritu Barala by female Delhi Police personnel occurred during a “vote theft” demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi.
The controversy comes amid allegations of police brutality against NSUI activists during protests against Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi.
On Friday, NSUI national president Vinod Jakhar claimed that he and several party workers had been detained at different police stations in the national capital. In a post on X, Jakhar said the detentions would not deter the organisation from raising its voice against alleged police brutality against women and protesting against the Centre.
Earlier, Delhi Police detained NSUI workers protesting outside Parliament Street Police Station over the alleged assault on activists and the alleged failure to register an FIR in the matter.
Athira Vijayan, a Delhi University law student and NSUI activist from Kozhikode district in Kerala, also alleged that police personnel assaulted her during the protest near Connaught Place on October 13.
According to her complaint, she sustained injuries. She alleged that she and other protesters were taken into custody, transported in a bus to Connaught Place, forcibly dragged out, and assaulted on a public street. (ANI)
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