FIR filed after national flag displayed upside down at BJP Kathua rally

The national flag was allegedly displayed upside down during a rally led by senior BJP leader Rajiv Jasrotia in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, following which an FIR was lodged for insulting the tricolour, police said on Saturday, September 29.

The FIR was registered on Friday, September 28, 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 said.

A local resident, Vinod Nijhawan, in a complaint alleged the national flag was disrespected during the rally led by Jasrotia, who is a former minister, and BJP candidate Rahul Dev Sharma on Thursday, September 27, 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 on Thursday, September 27, 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.