Richa Parashar seeks FIR against Rahul Gandhi over alleged push

Journalist Richa Parashar has submitted a criminal complaint to the Deputy Commissioner of Police for New Delhi district, seeking an FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and others over alleged manhandling at an October 12 Opposition protest. The Economic Times, citing The Times of India, reported the complaint on October 17.

The account describes a request to register a First Information Report, not confirmation that police have registered one. Parashar’s allegations are not established findings, and the report carries no response from Gandhi or police.

The protest involved leaders of the INDIA bloc marching towards the Supreme Court against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral-roll revision. Parashar said she was covering the march and was three months pregnant at the time.

What Parashar alleged

Parashar accused Gandhi of pushing her. In her account of the sequence, she alleged that he took hold of her hand and pulled her forward, after which his security personnel pushed her away. She said she fell down steps at the Supreme Court, landed on her stomach, hurt her hand and knees, and damaged her phone.

In a video recorded from a hospital bed, Parashar said she had neither questioned Gandhi nor spoken to him before the incident. She also said her cameraman fell onto her on the stairs, followed by four other people.

Parashar further alleged that Gandhi’s supporters shouted at her rather than helping her up. She appealed to media organisations that recorded the incident to release their footage. The report does not establish what any such footage shows.