‘Caused grievous hurt, used criminal force’: Decoding FIR against Rahul over Parliament scuffle
The Delhi Police have mentioned Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi as the prime suspect in the FIR which was registered on Thursday for the alleged assault of two BJP MPs on the Parliament premises.
As per the FIR, Gandhi is accused of using criminal force, assaulting and even threatening two BJP MPs—Pratap Rao Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput.
The FIR was registered under Sections 115 (voluntary causing hurt), 117 (voluntary causing grievous hurt), 125 (act of endangering life or personal safety of others), 131 (use of criminal force), 351 (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Parliament Street Police station.
Parliament on Thursday witnessed a new low as MPs of the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress clashed while protesting against each other during which Sarangi and Rajput were injured.
Soon after the incident, a BJP delegation led by MPs Anurag Thakur, Bansuri Swaraj and Hemang Joshi reached the Parliament Street police station and filed a formal complaint against Gandhi accusing him of “attempted murder” of the BJP MPs.
A Congress delegation also lodged a complaint stating that their party president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge was pushed to the ground by the saffron party leaders causing him “bodily injuries”.
The police received the complaints from the lawmakers of both the parties but registered an FIR on only BJP MP Hemang Joshi’s complaint.
Joshi, in his complaint, stated that the incident took place when MPs belonging to National Democratic Alliance (NDA) were protesting at ‘Makar Dwaar’ entrance of Parliament.
”During peaceful demonstration, Rahul Gandhi, arrived at the scene around 10.40 am to 10.45 am. Despite request from Parliament security to take the designated entry path, Rahul Gandhi with a malicious intent to disrupt the protest and physically harm NDA Members of Parliament ignored the instructions and forcefully barged toward the peaceful demonstrators,” an excerpt from the FIR read.
In the FIR, it is further mentioned that Gandhi violated the instructions of security personnel to take a dedicated path and also instigated other INDIA bloc members to proceed with “force and aggression” toward the NDA MPs.
A Sub-Inspector of the Delhi Police has mentioned in the FIR that following the incident at Parliament, he was directed to rush to the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital where he received two MLCs (Medico-Legal Case) from the doctor—one of Sarangi and the other of Rajput.
On Sarangi’s MLC, the doctors had opined an injury over the left eyebrow of 3 cm in length and 0.5 cm deep while Rajput had an injury on the occipital region (the back of the head and skull).
The FIR stated that both Sarangi and Rajput were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital due to which the police officer was not able to take their statements. It also mentions that no eyewitnesses were found at the hospital.
The officer when returned to the Parliament Street police station, saw BJP MP Hemang Joshi is already there with a written complaint following which the FIR was registered.
The Congress has denied all charges and stated that the FIR against Gandhi is nothing but a “diversionary tactic” in response to his staunch protest against Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Meanwhile, official sources say that the case will likely be investigated by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police.
