Jammu and Kashmir Police has lodged an FIR after the tricolour was allegedly displayed upside down during a rally led by senior BJP leader Rajiv Jasrotia in Kathua district.
The FIR was registered Friday against unknown persons in Kathua Police Station under Section 2 (insulting the national flag or the Constitution) of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, a police official told PTI.
A local resident, Vinod Nijhawan, in a complaint alleged the tricolour was disrespected during the rally led by Jasrotia, who is a former minister, and BJP candidate Rahul Dev Sharma Thursday, the official said.
Jasrotia, who is the BJP MLA from Kathua constituency, had accompanied Sharma in a procession from his Shiv Nagar residence to file nomination papers for ward number 19 Thursday for the Urban Local Body polls.
The complainant presented a video clip purportedly showing a person, just behind the BJP legislator, holding the tricolor upside down during the procession which covered a distance of over two km, the official said.
In his complaint, Nijhawan said the act was “very heinous” and hurt the “sentiments of the patriotic citizens of India”.
The official said an investigation was underway in the matter.
