Uttarakhand high court on Wednesday issued notices to BJP MLA Mahesh Singh Negi and his wife Rita Negi while hearing a petition by the woman complainant who has accused the MLA of raping her and fathering her child and has sought a CBI inquiry in the case alleging the state police was trying to derail the investigation.
In August, the woman had accused Negi of raping her several times and fathering her child and his wife of trying to hush up the matter by offering her money.
Avtar Singh Rawat, the counsel of the petitioner said the court has issued notices to MLA and his wife and fixed the next hearing in the matter on November 10.
The development comes a few days after BJP MLA Mahesh Singh filed a writ petition in HC seeking quashing of the FIR against him. Responding to the petition, the court on October 19 directed the state government and the complainant woman to file replies within three weeks, and stayed the arrest of the MLA till then.
On October 2, the 30-year-old complainant had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a CBI inquiry in the rape case. The four-page letter alleged that the administration and the police were not conducting a fair probe and were trying to save the accused MLA and pressuring her to compromise in the matter. The Dehradun police have, however, claimed they are carrying out a fair and unbiased probe. In September, the woman had also written to the state home secretary demanding a CBI probe in the matter
On August 13, Dehradun police had started a probe in the alleged extortion case against the woman after the wife of the BJP MLA from Dwarahat, Almora, Mahesh Singh Negi, lodged a complaint accusing the woman of demanding ₹ ₹ 5 crore by threatening to lodge a false rape complaint against her MLA husband.
The accused woman later on the same day released a video on social media in which she accused MLA’s wife Rita Negi of lodging a false complaint and alleged the MLA sexually harassed her for the last two years. She also claimed that she has a daughter with the MLA. She also demanded a DNA test of her daughter and the MLA to prove her claims.
On August 16, the woman filed a counter-complaint against the MLA for allegedly raping her on several occasions and fathering her child; she also accused his wife of trying to hush up the matter by offering her money.
This is the fourth petition in the court in this matter; earlier, all three involved in the case, MLA, his wife and the complainant woman have filed pleas in the HC seeking quashing of FIRs against them.