BJP MLA Mahesh Negi could not be reached for comment
A woman has filed a police complaint against an Uttarakhand BJP MLA accusing him of raping her several times between 2016 and 2018, and she has been charged for allegedly blackmailing him following a complaint by the legislator's wife, police said on Monday.
"The woman who is married levelled the allegations against the BJP's Dwarahat MLA Mahesh Negi. A complaint was lodged at Nehru colony police station here on Sunday," DG (law and order) Ashok Kumar said.
The MLA could not be reached for comment.
In her complaint, the woman claimed that he had fathered her child and a DNA test can be conducted to find out the truth, according to the police.
She has accused the MLA of travelling with her to Mussoorie, Nainital, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Nepal and raping her several times between 2016 and 2018.
The woman who claims to be the MLA's neighbour said she had met him in connection with the illness of her mother in 2016. She has also accused the legislator's wife of offering her Rs 25 lakh "to keep her mouth shut", they said.
Meanwhile, the MLA's wife has also lodged a complaint at the Nehru colony police station accusing the woman of blackmailing her husband, Mr Kumar said.
A case has been registered and a probe is underway, he said.
The sensational allegations against the BJP MLA have sent the political temperatures soaring in Uttarakhand with state Congress president Pritam Singh saying the charges are serious and a DNA test should be conducted.
"It is a serious matter that an MLA is being accused of sexual harassment by a woman as she has a child too. A DNA test of the baby should be conducted to find the truth," Mr Singh said.