FIR filed in Bengaluru over 'purification ritual' after Kharge's Uttarakhand rally

Bengaluru Police have registered an FIR over allegations that a purification ritual was held at the Haldwani venue after Mallikarjun Kharge's rally. The complaint says the act carried a casteist message and police have begun an investigation.

In Short

• Complaint by ex-Congress official alleges BJP staged ritual against Mallikarjun Kharge
• Ritual claimed to insult Kharge's Scheduled Caste identity and dignity
• BJP Uttarakhand chief Mahendra Bhatt accused of endorsing the act publicly

An FIR has been registered in Bengaluru following a complaint alleging that a “purification ritual” was conducted at Ramlila Ground in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a public rally there on August 8, 2026.

The complaint was filed on August 31 by TR Ramappa, former vice-chairman of the ST Department of the Congress. According to the FIR, Ramappa alleged that certain members and functionaries of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allegedly organised and conducted a so-called “purification ritual” or “Shuddhikkaran” at the same venue on August 10.

The complaint alleged that the ritual was intended to convey the “deeply offensive, derogatory and casteist notion” that Kharge’s presence had rendered the place “impure” because he belongs to a Scheduled Caste community.

According to the FIR, Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the national president of the Indian National Congress, had attended and addressed a large public rally at Ramlila Ground in Haldwani on August 8. The complaint stated that the rally was a democratic public assembly conducted in accordance with the law and without any unlawful incident.

The FIR said the complainant came to know through reports published in print and electronic media and circulated on social media that certain BJP members and functionaries had allegedly conducted the “purification ritual” at the venue on August 10.

The complaint alleged that the act was not merely objectionable but constituted a deliberate and deeply insulting act directed against Kharge’s dignity and social status.

Ramappa also alleged that Mahendra Bhatt, president of the BJP in Uttarakhand, publicly defended, justified and endorsed the alleged purification ritual through statements made to the media. The complaint alleged that by publicly supporting and seeking to justify the act, Bhatt lent his authority and tacit official imprimatur to the conduct and reinforced what it described as a hurtful, casteist and discriminatory message.

The FIR further alleged that the accused persons were fully aware that Kharge belongs to a Scheduled Caste and, with that knowledge, deliberately and intentionally subjected him to a purported “purification ritual”. The complaint alleged that this conveyed and perpetuated the caste-based notion that his presence was “impure or polluting”.

The case names “Uttarakhand State BJP members and others” as accused, with the FIR listing them as adult males from Nainital, Uttarakhand.

The FIR records the alleged offences under Section 7(1)(d) and 7(1)(c) of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, Section 3(1)(u) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and Section 196(1)(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The complaint was registered at Vidhana Soudha Police Station in Bengaluru City, although the alleged incident took place at Ramlila Ground in Haldwani, which falls under Haldwani Kotwali Police Station in Nainital district.

The FIR states that police obtained legal opinion on September 4, 2026, after which the case was registered. The police have initiated an investigation.

- Ends