Ranchi
The sexual assault case against Congress MLA Bhushan Bara took a fresh turn on Saturday after the minor tribal complainant from Simdega recorded her statement before a judicial magistrate in Ranchi, with the proceedings kept under seal.
This even as the Simdega police registered a second FIR against two persons accused of abducting the tribal girl and pressuring her to make false allegations against the legislator, opening up a parallel investigation into the circumstances surrounding the complaint.
The minor girl’s statement assumes significance as it will form an important part of the investigation into her allegations against the two-time Simdega MLA. She had accused Bara of raping her at his official residence in Ranchi on August 5, physically assaulting her and threatening to kill her if she disclosed the incident. She also alleged that she became pregnant following the assault and subsequently suffered a miscarriage, which she learnt about during a medical examination.
According to her complaint, she was brought from Simdega to Ranchi in May 2026 by two women, identified as Ema Bara and Josima Khakha, on the promise of education and school admission. Instead, she was allegedly made to perform domestic chores and subjected to physical and verbal abuse. The FIR registered at Dhurwa police station on Friday names Bara and the two women under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act.
The second FIR, registered at Pakartanr police station in Simdega on November 13, follows a complaint by the girl’s grandfather. He alleged that Dilip Tirkey and Abhishek Bharti, a content creator associated with a YouTube channel, abducted his granddaughter three days earlier, intimidated her and compelled her to make false and misleading statements against Bara. Police have invoked various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 23(4) of the POCSO Act against the two named persons.
Simdega Superintendent of Police Shrikant S Khotre confirmed the registration of the second case, saying the allegations were being investigated and further action would depend on the evidence gathered.
The registration of the second FIR has also triggered protests among journalists and media organisations, particularly over the naming of journalist Abhishek Bharti, who reportedly brought the allegations against the MLA into the public domain. The Jharkhand unit of Working Journalists of India has condemned the action, expressing concern that a journalist reporting a serious allegation involving a minor could himself face criminal proceedings. The police, however, maintain that the complaint against the two men is under investigation.
Bara has denied the allegations, describing them as completely false and misleading and alleging a political conspiracy involving people expelled from the Congress. He has questioned the delay in the filing of the complaint, maintaining that the truth would emerge through the investigation. His denial notwithstanding, the registration of an FIR under the POCSO Act has placed the legislator under serious legal and political scrutiny.
BJP Targets Congress And JMM
The BJP has demanded Bara’s immediate arrest, adequate security for the survivor and her family, and an impartial investigation without political interference. State BJP president Aditya Sahu questioned the silence of Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, and sought an explanation from Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the JMM leadership over their response to the allegations against an alliance partner’s legislator. The BJP has warned of a Statewide agitation if prompt action is not taken.
The controversy comes at a particularly difficult time for the JMM-led government, with its Congress ally now facing allegations involving a tribal minor. Although there is no indication yet of an immediate threat to the coalition’s stability, the case could become a major political liability if the government is seen as being slow or selective in its response. The Congress, too, faces the challenge of demonstrating that its political association with the legislator will not come in the way of an independent investigation.
The episode also comes close on the heels of the death of tribal activist Nisha Bhagat, who allegedly died by suicide on November 6 after a Facebook Live broadcast in which she accused the state government, land brokers and sections of the administration of harassment and inaction. Following protests by the Opposition BJP and tribal organisations, Hemant Soren recommended a CBI investigation into her death. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes had also sought an action-taken report from state authorities.
The two cases are unrelated and must be investigated independently. However, their proximity has intensified scrutiny of the government’s handling of complaints involving tribal women and girls, institutional accountability and the protection of vulnerable complainants. For a government that has consistently projected tribal identity and rights as central to its political mandate, the manner in which it handles these cases could have consequences beyond the immediate political contest.
The central questions now are whether the police can establish the facts behind the alleged assault, verify the claims of coercion in the second FIR, protect the minor from intimidation and ensure that neither political influence nor pressure on the media compromises the investigations.
