Rajasthan Congress seeks FIR over NSUI leader’s assault; Dotasra stays at police HQ

• Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra and party leaders spend a second night at Jaipur Police HQ demanding an FIR over the alleged assault on NSUI leader Ritu Barala

• Police use mild force to disperse protesting Congress workers, with scuffles and traffic disruptions reported

• Jaipur Police cites an ongoing investigation in Delhi, while Congress demands a copy of the FIR and insists on legal action

Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra and several party leaders spent a second consecutive night at the Jaipur Police Commissionerate, demanding the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) over the alleged assault on NSUI leader Ritu Barala by Delhi Police personnel.

The protest intensified on Tuesday night as police used mild force to disperse Congress workers gathered outside the commissionerate in support of the demand. Slogans, scuffles and traffic disruptions were reported in the area as tensions escalated between protesters and police.

Dotasra, who has been staying at the commissionerate since Monday evening alongside Barala and other Congress leaders, said the group would not leave until an FIR was registered. The leaders spent Monday night sleeping in a corridor inside the premises and remained there on Tuesday after their demand went unmet.

A large number of Congress workers assembled outside the commissionerate on Tuesday, raising slogans and pressing police to act on Barala’s complaint. Police shut the main gate, erected barricades and deployed additional personnel to prevent protesters from entering the premises.

The standoff centres on Jaipur Police’s refusal to register a Zero FIR over the alleged assault. Police officials said Barala had already filed a complaint at Delhi’s Connaught Place police station on 13 October and that the matter was under investigation there.

A senior police official said Congress leaders had been informed that another FIR could not be registered in Jaipur on the same facts.

Dotasra, however, insisted that the police provide a copy of the FIR registered in Delhi. He said the Congress leaders would leave the commissionerate once they received the document.

He also maintained that the law permitted the registration of a Zero FIR, which can be filed at any police station regardless of where the alleged offence occurred, before being transferred to the appropriate jurisdiction.

Congress leaders said they would continue their protest until their demand was addressed. PCC general secretary Swarnim Chaturvedi said nearly 100 party leaders were inside the commissionerate and would remain there until a resolution was reached.

The protest began on Monday evening after Barala approached Jaipur’s Moti Dungri police station with a complaint but police did not register an FIR.

Barala has alleged that women constables of the Delhi Police assaulted her inside a bus carrying detained protesters during an NSUI demonstration in New Delhi on 13 October. The allegations have not been established independently.

The NSUI demonstration took place near Rajiv Chowk Metro station, where protesters demanded the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities.

The incident has since triggered a political confrontation in Rajasthan, with Congress leaders demanding formal legal action over the alleged treatment of Barala, who hails from the state.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also asked Dotasra to pursue legal action over the allegations.

With Jaipur Police maintaining that the complaint is already being investigated in Delhi and Congress leaders refusing to end their sit-in without further action, the standoff continued into a second night. The dispute now centres on access to the existing complaint and whether a separate Zero FIR should be registered in Rajasthan.

With PTI inputs