‘Unwed Mother Scandal’ resurfaces after 23 years, three developments stir Uttarakhand’s political cauldron ahead of assembly polls
‘Unwed Mother Scandal’ resurfaces after 23 years, three developments stir Uttarakhand’s political cauldron ahead of assembly polls
S.M.A. KAZMI
Dehradun, Nov 7
A day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the chief strategist of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), launched his party’s campaign for the forthcoming Uttarakhand Assembly elections, and on the eve of Diwali, Jenny alias Indira Deuri, the woman who had accused then Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat of raping her and fathering her child in 2003, resurfaced today. In another significant development, Girdhari Lal Sahu, husband of Uttarakhand minister Rekha Arya, was arrested by the Uttarakhand Police in Jhansi in connection with an FIR registered against him at his wife’s instance.
Reappearing after 23 years, Jenny alias Indira Deuri addressed a press conference and once again accused Harak Singh Rawat of raping her and fathering her son. Appealing to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for justice, she demanded a fresh CBI investigation into the 2003 case and a fresh DNA test. She announced that she would not leave Dehradun until justice was delivered.
In a letter addressed to the Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP), she stated that she was only 16 years old when she was allegedly raped.
When the ‘unwed mother scandal’ surfaced in 2003, Harak Singh Rawat was forced to resign from the N.D. Tiwari government. A CBI inquiry was subsequently ordered, and a DNA test was conducted on the newborn child. The CBI investigation and DNA test gave a clean chit to Harak Singh Rawat. Subsequently, in July 2004, Jenny herself made a U-turn and exonerated Rawat of the allegations.
However, questioning the integrity of the earlier CBI investigation today, she claimed that the CBI team had met her only once during the entire inquiry.
“The CBI came to see me just that one time. Can a CBI investigation be conducted in just a single meeting?” she asked.
She claimed that she was in a state of extreme distress at the time and did not have a proper understanding of Hindi.
“I was never properly questioned. I did not know Hindi and could not understand 90 per cent of what was being said. I do not understand how the DNA test was conducted,” she stated.
She also raised questions about the DNA test, claiming that nobody had ever approached her to collect a sample from her son. She questioned how the test could have been conducted under such circumstances.
“My son is 23 years old today. All I want is justice. I want a fresh CBI investigation and a new DNA test,” she said, adding that she sought nothing else except that her son should be given his rightful identity.
Asked why she had come forward after such a long gap, Jenny said she had wanted to speak out earlier but could not do so because of fear. She alleged that the police had threatened her and warned her against returning.
Interestingly, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who has been facing considerable political pressure over the Ankita Bhandari murder case, had himself revived the 2003 ‘unwed mother scandal’ last week, targeting the Congress party in general and Harak Singh Rawat in particular.
Following Dhami’s remarks, a video of Jenny alias Indira Deuri also surfaced on social media, in which she announced her intention to visit Dehradun.
However, the timing of her reappearance, 23 years after the controversy, and its coincidence with the Chief Minister and other BJP leaders raising the issue ahead of the Assembly elections have triggered questions about the political circumstances surrounding the development.
In another significant development, Girdhari Lal Sahu, husband of Uttarakhand minister Rekha Arya, was arrested by the Uttarakhand Police in Jhansi today. He had been absconding after Rekha Arya accused him of fraud, deceit and forgery in a police complaint. He had also approached the Nainital High Court seeking relief in connection with the FIR registered against him, but his plea was rejected.
The public feud between the minister and her husband had caused considerable embarrassment to the ruling BJP. Girdhari Lal Sahu had, in turn, levelled allegations of corruption against Rekha Arya, claiming that she had amassed Rs 210 crore through corrupt practices while serving as a minister.
In a third development that has further stirred Uttarakhand’s political landscape, Urmila Sanawar, the whistleblower in the Ankita Bhandari murder case, was taken into police custody soon after walking out of jail yesterday. She had earlier been arrested by the Haridwar Police and subsequently granted bail by a court. However, she was taken into custody again immediately after her release from jail.
She was released after being interrogated by the police for three hours.
Urmila Sanawar, who claims to be the wife of former BJP legislator Suresh Rathore, has created a political sensation by naming senior RSS functionaries as the alleged ‘VIPs’ for whom special services were supposedly demanded from Ankita Bhandari. Ankita, a receptionist at a resort, was murdered by the resort owner after she allegedly refused to comply with the demand.
