The Congress on Wednesday, October 21, ended its sit-in at the Jaipur Police Commissionerate after the police gave the party a written response saying a Zero FIR could not be registered in Jaipur over the alleged assault on NSUI national secretary Ritu Barala, PTI reported. Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra and other leaders had been at the Commissionerate since Monday evening, demanding registration of the case in Jaipur.

Source: PTI via News89

"Our demand was that an FIR should be registered, but police have given us in writing that since a complaint has already been lodged in Delhi, an FIR cannot be registered here. We will now approach the court," Dotasra told reporters, according to PTI. He said the party would approach the Rajasthan High Court and the Supreme Court, alleging that officials had wrongly interpreted Section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and would also initiate legal action against officers who, according to him, prevented the registration of the FIR.

The police position, as conveyed in the written response, is that Barala had already filed a complaint about the incident in Delhi and the matter is under investigation there. Barala has alleged that she was assaulted by Delhi Police personnel during a protest in Delhi on October 13; the allegation remains under investigation and has not been established. She later approached the Moti Dungri police station in Jaipur with her complaint, and Congress leaders say the station house officer refused to register the FIR on Monday evening and asked them to obtain orders from the police commissioner.

Source: PTI via News89

Speaking after the sit-in ended, Dotasra also questioned why a Zero FIR could not be registered in Rajasthan when, he said, one had been registered in Kerala under the same law, IANS reported. "If a Zero FIR can be registered in Kerala, why not in Rajasthan?" he asked, alleging that the police were under pressure from Delhi and were misinterpreting the law — an allegation the police have not accepted. Earlier on Wednesday, Dotasra had injured his leg after slipping on the stairs inside the Commissionerate during the protest, and a medical team had examined him, ANI reported.

Source: IANS via HiIndia

With the sit-in called off, the dispute now moves from the Commissionerate premises to the courts. Congress says it will seek a judicial interpretation of the provision and pursue registration of the case for Barala, while the Jaipur police stand by their written position that the Delhi complaint is already under investigation.