Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Hans Raj has been booked by the Himachal Pradesh police for allegedly sending obscene messages to a woman and demanding nude photos from her. The three-time MLA allegedly used to threaten the 20-year-old woman who is the daughter of a BJP worker, said an officer.
The FIR was registered against the MLA from Churah in Chamba district Woman Police Station in Chamba on August 9 but it came to the fore on Monday after copies of it were shared on social media. Hans Raj is the vice president of BJP's Himachal Pradesh unit and a former deputy speaker of Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha.
On Monday she went live on Facebook where she said that she filed the complaint "under mental stress and after being lured by someone."
The woman recorded her statement under Section 164 of CrPC before a local magistrate, said a senior police officer, reported Indian Express. “In her statement, the woman said that she doesn’t want to pursue the matter. However, our investigation is on,” the officer said.
The complainant has alleged that the BJP MLA sent her obscene messages and compelled her to meet him alone. He would also demand nude photographs from her. The woman, who mentioned in the complaint that her father is a booth-level leader of the party, claimed that she had two cell phones, one of which was destroyed by Hans Raj and his associates.
The woman sought protection for herself and her family, stated the Indian Express report, adding that she alleged that the MLA had been pressuring her to delete the chats and other messages from her phone.
Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader dubbed the allegation a "serious issue" and said he would check all the facts and circumstances under which the FIR has been booked.
MLA Hans Raj called me and put in his version. However, there is a need to see all the aspects,” Thakur said, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Himachal Legislative Assembly.
The FIR has been lodged under Section 75 (making obscene remarks) and Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, the report added.
During her Facebook Live the woman, with her father by her side, however, said that leaders of Congress and people in the media are spreading wrong facts about the entire incident. " I want to urge with folded hands that people should not make all this an issue,” she said.