Congress Protests Against Arms Act Charges in Chhattisgarh

Senior Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh, including the party's state chief Deepak Baij and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, joined a sit-in agitation on Tuesday demanding the withdrawal of Arms Act charges against a local party functionary.

The controversy stems from a first information report (FIR) registered on Sunday against district Congress vice-president Narendra Jain following a complaint lodged by BJP district president Murli Manohar Soni, police officials stated.

According to the police complaint, the incident occurred during campaigning for the Shivnandanpur Nagar Panchayat elections on the night of May 23. Soni alleged that Jain abused BJP workers, threatened them with dire consequences, and brandished a sharp-edged weapon while attempting to force an individual onto a motorcycle.

Jain has been booked under sections 296 (obscene acts) and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act.

Jain, who is yet to be arrested, serves as the Congress's election in-charge for the region. The civic and panchayat polls for Shivnandanpur and several other local bodies are scheduled on June 1.

The Congress has claimed that the ruling BJP fabricated the case to manipulate the civic election's outcome. A party delegation also approached the State Election Commissioner, seeking the suspension of the Vishrampur station house officer (SHO).

Talking to reporters, Baij alleged that the BJP was misusing state machinery after realising it was likely to lose the election.

''The BJP has been trying to influence the polls by misusing power. The Congress will strongly oppose these undemocratic actions,'' he said.

He further questioned the inclusion of the Arms Act charges against Jain, alleging that the police acted without a proper probe into the incident.

''We asked the police whether Jain was carrying a pistol, AK-47 or INSAS rifle and whether CCTV footage was examined. They had no answer,'' he claimed.

If an Arms Act complaint was received, a proper inquiry should have been conducted before registering an FIR. The local police officers are acting like BJP workers, the Congress leader alleged.

Baij further said that Congress workers would continue their agitation outside the Vishrampur police station until the weapon charges are dropped and a counter-FIR is registered based on the Congress's complaint regarding the incident.

''We will continue our sit-in protest outside the police station and even fight the election from here if needed,'' he said.

Former deputy chief minister and senior party leader T S Singh Deo, who also joined the protest on Tuesday, alleged that elections were being influenced through central agencies such as the ED, CBI, Income Tax and even the Election Commission.

If the administration openly functions under such pressure, the very purpose of conducting elections would lose its meaning, he claimed.

He said if no action is taken on the party's demands by evening, he would begin an indefinite fast, while Baij would launch a hunger strike.

Meanwhile, Latori area tehsildar Surendra Paikra confirmed that Congress leaders have submitted their demands to remove certain sections from the FIR, and the matter has been forwarded to senior officials for further action.

(With inputs from agencies.)