Raipur: In a brazen defiance of the law, Bajrang Dal leader Jyoti Sharma has openly challenged the Indian legal system, daring authorities to register an FIR against her for allegedly assaulting young women who were accompanying Catholic nuns in Chhattisgarh. “Do you dare to file an FIR against me, someone who has worked for Hindutva? If you do, consider it as digging your own grave,” Sharma declared in a fiery statement that has drawn severe backlash across political and religious lines.
The controversy stems from the shocking revelation made by Kamleshwari Pradhan, a young woman who had been detained along with two Malayali nuns in a railway coach. According to her testimony, she was subjected to brutal physical assault at the hands of Jyoti Sharma and other Bajrang Dal members. Pradhan claims that after being pulled up by a TTE for not having a ticket, the situation escalated rapidly when right-wing activists arrived and began harassing her and the accompanying nuns.
“The Bajrang Dal workers began to beat me mercilessly. The nuns were forcibly separated and taken to another room. I was locked in a different room and beaten while the railway police stood as mute spectators,” Pradhan recounted. She further alleged that the railway police not only failed to intervene but later coerced her into altering her original statement an act she claims was recorded on video.
The incident, which took place during the nuns’ journey from Chhattisgarh to Agra, has drawn national attention, particularly after Sharma’s unapologetic remarks. In addition to her legal dare, Sharma lashed out at Malayalam media outlets, accusing them of “defaming” Chhattisgarh by reporting on the attack.
Kamleshwari Pradhan, whose complaint was filed formally with the police, also clarified that her journey was undertaken with full knowledge and consent of her family. “My mother had given me the money and I went with their permission. I have made this clear in the complaint,” she stated, dismissing the narrative of coercion propagated by right-wing groups.
As calls grow louder for legal action and an impartial investigation, civil society groups, Church leaders, and human rights advocates are demanding accountability from the state machinery. Meanwhile, silence from local law enforcement has only intensified concerns about impunity and communal bias.
This latest episode underscores a troubling pattern of targeted attacks on religious minorities in the name of Hindutva ideology. Jyoti Sharma’s open provocation and her confidence in evading prosecution raise urgent questions about the state of law enforcement and the shrinking space for justice in politically charged cases.