A day after Uttarakhand police registered an FIR over state women and child development Rekha Arya’s allegations that her husband Girdhari Lal Sahu conspired to murder her, subjected her to repeated caste-based harassment and forged her signatures to remove her from various positions without her consent, the state police said on Friday that they launched a probe into the matter.
Sahu, meanwhile, accused Arya of habitual corruption and administrative indifference towards her constituency (Someshwar in Almora district), and dismissed the allegations against him.
Dehradun city superintendent of police Shekhar Chand Suyal said a deputy SP-rank officer will handle the probe. “We have also received evidence along with the complaint and the required action will be taken promptly,” said
“Action will be taken based on evidence that surfaces during the probe,” he added.
In her complaint, Arya alleged that Sahu had concealed his earlier marriage before marrying her and had relationships with other women. She also alleged that Sahu and another woman were plotting to kill her and that Sahu forged her signatures on various documents to remove her from certain positions without her consent. She posted a video statement on Facebook and also shared two audio clips of purported phone calls between Sahu and an unidentified woman. HT could not independently verify the veracity of the audio recordings.
The alleged offences took place over an extended period, from July 6, 2004, to October 15, 2026.
{{/usCountry}}The alleged offences took place over an extended period, from July 6, 2004, to October 15, 2026.
{{/usCountry}}The FIR, registered at the Cantonment police station in Dehradun, charges Sahu with forgery, cheating, criminal conspiracy, bigamy, cruelty by a husband, and criminal intimidation under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as charges under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, police said.
Sahu on Friday alleged that he had flagged corruption in Arya’s departments over 10 years and claimed that the audio clips were generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
“I told her many times that corruption was taking place in her departments and that so much money was not required. She never listened to me. I even had arguments with her over this....I always told her not to indulge in corruption....There are other ministers too, but no one else’s name is associated with corruption. Your name is associated with corruption across the country. You have crossed all limits of corruption,” he claimed in video statements on Facebook.
“She only indulged in corruption and never visited her constituency,” he claimed.
Sahu, who is from Bareilly in UP, also appealed to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami for justice, alleging he had complained to him about Arya’s alleged corruption and claiming he possessed evidence against her.
He also sought a probe by any agency and alleged that Arya amassed illegal assets worth ₹210 crore. “I will hold a detailed press conference in Uttarakhand on this,” he said.
Arya didn’t respond to HT’s requests for comment till the time of going to print. She was admitted at a private hospital in Dehradun on Monday after reportedly suffering from high blood pressure (BP).
Police on Friday said Arya was “out of danger”.