Complaint filed against Nitish Kumar in Vaniyambadi over hijab controversy

The Welfare Party of India filed a complaint with Vaniyambadi Town police in Tirupattur on Saturday, demanding a public apology from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for pulling down a Muslim woman’s face veil during an event in Patna recently.

On behalf of the party, Tirupattur district president K. Faseeh Akram lodged a complaint under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, (BNS) 2023. The section reads that every information relating to the commission of a cognisable offence, irrespective of the area where the offence is committed, may be given orally or by electronic communication to an officer in charge of a police station.

In his complaint (a copy of it available with The Hindu), Mr. Akram said that incident has caused immense shock, distress, and outrage, particularly among women in the country. He charged that the act of Mr. Kumar, which was done without her consent, was in complete disregard of her personal autonomy, dignity, religious identity, and privacy, thereby publicly humiliating her and reducing her to an object of spectacle. “The act has offended the modesty of women. We waited for Mr. Kumar tender an apology after the incident. As it was not happening, we decided to file a complaint with the police,” Mr. Akram said.

Police said that the facts mentioned in the complaint will be verified with legal experts before the complaint is sent to Bihar police in the coming days.

A video clip of the incident from December 15 has been circulated online and sparked a major political row. Ayush doctors from the State had gathered to receive their letters of appointment from Mr. Kumar at the State secretariat. When the woman came up to receive her letter, Mr. Kumar saw her ‘naqab’, said “what is this” and then removed the veil.