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FIR filed against Rahul Gandhi over remarks on Haldwani purification ritual

2 sources · India

Who reported this

  • The Indian Express India · Centre · Indian Express Group (Goenka family)
  • Hindustan Times India · Centre-right · HT Media (KK Birla group)

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
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A first information report (FIR) was registered on Sunday against Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, at the Haldwani Kotwali police station in Uttarakhand's Nainital district. The case follows remarks Gandhi made during a press conference in New Delhi on August 29 regarding a purification ritual conducted at the local Ramlila Ground.

The FIR was lodged based on a complaint from Amit Kumar, a 26 year old resident of Jawahar Nagar Colony and an office bearer of the Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas. Kumar, who identified himself as a member of the Scheduled Caste (Valmiki) community, alleged that Gandhi wrongly described the cleaning and havan ritual as an act of untouchability and an atrocity against the Scheduled Caste community without verifying the facts.

Haldwani Superintendent of Police (City) Manoj Kumar Katyal confirmed that the FIR was registered under relevant sections, including the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and Sections 196 and 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. A thorough investigation into the matter is currently underway.

How each side framed it

Centre
The center lean outlet focused on the timing of the FIR relative to Mallikarjun Kharge's call for an FIR.
Centre-right
The center-right lean outlet emphasized the specific nature of the ritual as a havan and provided detailed legal sections under which the case was filed.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.