Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra and other leaders of the party spent Monday (October 19, 2026) night staging a dharna at the Jaipur Police Commissionerate and slept in its corridor after police did not register an FIR against a Delhi Police woman constable accused of assaulting NSUI leader Ritu Barala.
Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully and several women MLAs also joined the protest on Tuesday (October 20, 2026). The number of Congress workers gathered outside the commissionerate has also increased.
Police kept the main gate closed, erected barricades to prevent party workers from entering the premises and deployed additional personnel.
Congress workers shouted slogans and demanded the registration of an FIR. Several Congress leaders, including MLA Rafeek Khan, were already inside the commissionerate.
Mr. Jully questioned why police were refusing to register a case when there was a legal provision for a zero number FIR.
Mr. Khan said even the Rajasthan Assembly Leader of Opposition was not allowed in initially and could only enter after a lot of effort.
Another Congress leader alleged that the BJP government wanted a confrontation and was therefore preventing the registration of the FIR.
He said getting an FIR registered was a legal right, and Jaipur Police only had to register a Zero FIR and forward it to the police station concerned in Delhi for investigation.
"What is the problem in that?" he asked, alleging that police officers were under pressure.
Congress leader Pushpendra Bhardwaj said registration of a zero FIR was a legal provision, but Jaipur Police officers were refusing to do so.
He questioned why an FIR was not being registered over the alleged assault on a woman when the Narendra Modi government talked about women's empowerment through the Nari Vandan initiative.
Mr. Dotasra, Ms. Barala and other Congress leaders reached the commissionerate on Monday (October 19, 2026) evening after police at the Moti Dungri police station received their complaint but did not register an FIR.
The leaders staged a dharna at the commissionerate and spent the night there, sleeping in the corridor.
Mr. Dotasra said they would leave only after an FIR was registered on Ms. Barala's complaint.
He said police were free to register a case against Congress leaders for obstructing official work, but they would not leave without getting the FIR registered.
"There cannot be two sets of laws in the country. If an FIR can be registered in a non-BJP-ruled state, why can it not be registered in BJP-ruled Rajasthan?" Mr. Dotasra said.
He said the Congress would neither back down nor allow the demand for justice to be suppressed until an FIR was registered.
On Monday (October 19, 2026), Mr. Dotasra, accompanied by Ms. Barala and other party leaders, first visited the Moti Dungri police station seeking registration of a case against the Delhi Police constable.
After the police received their complaint without registering an FIR, the leaders went to the Police Commissionerate, where Mr. Dotasra spoke to a senior official regarding their demand.
A large number of Congress workers gathered outside the commissionerate, following which police closed its main gate and tightened security.
The protest came after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked Mr. Dotasra to pursue legal action over the alleged assault on Ms. Barala, who hails from Rajasthan.
In a social media post on October 16, Gandhi alleged that the Delhi Police had assaulted two young women, Athira from Kerala and Ritu from Rajasthan, during a protest in the national capital.
He said a Zero FIR had already been registered in Kerala and that the Congress would pursue legal action against the police personnel concerned.
Ms. Barala, an NSUI leader, alleged that Delhi Police woman constable Chanchal Yadav assaulted her inside a bus carrying detained protesters during a demonstration in Delhi on October 13.
She alleged that the constable grabbed her by the neck, pushed her onto a seat, scratched her face and slapped her.
The NSUI had staged the protest near Rajiv Chowk Metro station demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities.
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Dotasra had earlier condemned the alleged assault and demanded action against the police personnel responsible.