The action by the Bengaluru police comes a day after Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the Leader of the Rajya Sabha, pointing out that no FIR had been registered in connection with the “purification” ritual in Haldwani, even 24 days after the incident. (File photo)The Bengaluru police Friday registered a Zero First Information Report (FIR) against Uttarakhand BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt and other party members over a “purification ritual” performed at a ground in the north Indian state’s Haldwani after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge attended a public rally there.According to a complaint by T R Ramappa, former vice-chairman of the Scheduled Tribes Department cell of the Adivasi Congress, after Kharge addressed a public gathering at Ramlila Ground in Nainital district on August 8, local BJP functionaries allegedly got a ritualistic cleansing, referred to as ‘Shuddhikaran’, carried out at the same venue.Ramappa contended that the act was intended to propagate a casteist notion that the ground had turned “impure” on account of Kharge’s presence, given that Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, belongs to a Scheduled Caste community.The complaint names Mahendra Bhatt and others for allegedly publicly defending and endorsing the ritual in media statements, which the complainant said amounted to lending official sanction to an act of discrimination.The police at Vidhana Soudha station have registered a Zero FIR under sections of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Also Read | After FIR, BJP targets Rahul Gandhi with a ‘buddhi shuddhi’ ritualA Zero FIR allows a complaint to be registered at any police station regardless of where the alleged offence took place, following which it is transferred to the police station with territorial jurisdiction – in this case, in Uttarakhand – for further investigation.The Bengaluru police said the complaint would be forwarded to the authorities concerned in Uttarakhand for investigation.Story continues below this adThey said the FIR was registered after the department sought legal opinion on the written complaint submitted on August 31.The action by the Bengaluru police comes a day after Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the Leader of the Rajya Sabha, J P Nadda, pointing out that no FIR had been registered in connection with the “purification” ritual in Haldwani, even 24 days after the incident and despite Nadda’s assurance.