Court notice to Nagpur police for not lodging FIR against RSS

Jabalpure, who is also a Congress worker, filed an RTI in 2018 seeking details about the “weapons possessed” by the RSS from the local Kotwali police station.

A court in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district on Saturday served notice to a local police station for allegedly failing to lodge a case against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) despite receiving a complaint regarding “illegal possession” of weapons.

The district and sessions court was hearing a petition filed by social activist Mohnis Jabalpure.

Jabalpure, who is also a Congress worker, filed an RTI in 2018 seeking details about the “weapons possessed” by the RSS from the local Kotwali police station. He also sought to know if those weapons were confiscated during the elections or other emergencies. However, the Kotwali police failed to provide any details to the applicant.

Jabalpure then approached the Kotwali police to get a first information report (FIR) registered against the RSS for “possessing weapons”, but it was not entertained by the police.

The activist then approached the court, which issued a notice to Kotwali police station way back in 2018. However, the police failed to provide any concrete answers.

On Saturday, district and sessions judge SB Gawande again issued notice to the Kotwali police and told them to file a response within four weeks.

Every year, the RSS performs ‘Shastra Pooja’ (weapon worship) at its headquarters during Vijay Dashami festival. Sarsanghchalak, or the RSS chief, performs the pooja before the annual customary speech.