The Rajasthan Congress staged an overnight protest at the Jaipur Police Commissionerate after police allegedly refused to register an FIR against a Delhi Police woman constable accused of assaulting NSUI leader Ritu Barala. State Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, along with Barala and several party leaders, first approached the Moti Dungri police station to file a complaint. When the complaint was accepted without an FIR being registered, the leaders moved to the Police Commissionerate, where they began a sit-in protest and spent the entire night sleeping in the building’s corridor, insisting they would not leave until a formal case was registered.
Addressing party workers and the media, Dotasra said there should not be different standards of law in different states and questioned why an FIR could not be registered in Rajasthan when a Zero FIR had already been filed in Kerala over the same incident. He stated that Congress leaders were prepared to face legal action if authorities believed they had obstructed official work, but maintained that they would continue their protest until justice was delivered. The demonstration prompted a large gathering of Congress supporters outside the commissionerate, leading police to tighten security and close the main entrance to the premises.
The protest follows allegations by NSUI leader Ritu Barala that Delhi Police woman constable Chanchal Yadav assaulted her while she was detained during a student protest in Delhi on October 13. Barala claimed she was grabbed by the neck, pushed onto a seat, scratched on the face and slapped inside a police bus. The protest in Delhi had been organised by the NSUI demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had earlier raised the issue publicly, calling for legal action against the police personnel involved, while former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other Congress leaders also demanded a thorough investigation into the alleged assault.
