An FIR has been registered against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani following a complaint alleging that his remarks on the controversial “purification” ritual gave the issue a casteist angle. According to police, the complaint was filed by Amit Kumar, a member of the Valmiki community and Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas, who claimed Gandhi’s comments hurt the sentiments of the Scheduled Caste community and wrongly portrayed the ritual as an act of untouchability.

Police said the case has been registered under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections related to promoting enmity between groups and deliberate acts intended to outrage religious feelings. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, has also been invoked. The complainant alleged that people from various communities, including Scheduled Castes, had participated in the ritual and that it had no connection with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s caste.

The controversy began after a group of people allegedly conducted a “purification yajna” at Haldwani’s Ramlila Ground on August 11, days after Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a public meeting at the venue. While the Congress condemned the incident as evidence of an anti-Dalit mindset and demanded legal action against those involved, the BJP defended the ritual, claiming it was carried out because the venue had been left unclean after the rally and that inappropriate slogans had been raised at a religious site.