Personal assistant, close aide of Himachal BJP MLA Hans Raj booked days after fresh allegations of harassment surfaced against legislator

Lakhanpal said that Lekh Raj and Khan were booked on charges of abduction, intimidation, and coercing a change in statements and common intention.

“The FIR was registered following the complaint of the victim’s father. Although in his complaint, the victim’s father also named the BJP MLA Hans Raj but the FIR was registered against the two men, who had abducted him and his daughter from Chamba and taken them to Shimla. Later, the two accused also forced the victim to change her statement,” said a source.

According to the complaint, the accused allegedly abducted the complainant and his daughter last year and took them to Shimla, where they were threatened and forced to change their statements. The father claimed they were warned that their house would be set on fire if they did not comply.

In his complaint, the victim’s father alleged that the two accused compelled them to prepare a written statement, which his daughter was forced to read out live. The man also alleged that he and his daughter were taken to the Chamba court in a vehicle, and were not allowed to get off anywhere. At the time, his wife was alone at home, which led his daughter to alter her statement in court.

On Thursday, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told reporters that his government has been monitoring all developments pertaining to the allegations against the BJP MLA Hans Raj. Sukhu also said the victim should not have changed her earlier statement.

‘Politics is a platform full of conspiracies and plots’

Hans Raj has repeatedly claimed that the allegations against him are malicious and politically motivated.

On Wednesday, he issued an apology to the people, especially those employed in the industrial areas of Baddi and Nalagarh, and said he didn’t intend to hurt their emotions with his words.

In a video message, the three-time Churah MLA and a former deputy speaker said that the people of Chamba, who are employed in Baddi and Nalagarh, are the “backbone of the state’s economy.” He also acknowledged their vital contribution to the state’s development.

He said that as a public representative, his responsibility does not end with elections. “I am accountable to the people, and their expectations of me are high. Politics is a platform full of conspiracies and plots, where such attacks begin whenever a common man starts progressing,” he said.

In his statement, he also denied any misconduct with any woman, adding that a false narrative was created as part of a political design to malign his image.

Hans Raj’s apology came two days after the Himachal Pradesh State Women Commission sought a report from the Chamba district police pertaining to the harassment allegations against him.

‘She has taken the wrong path’

In his earlier video, Hans Raj talked about the “behaviour” of the woman, who has accused him of harassment.

In that video, the MLA said, “In parivaar walon ko bhi sochna chahiye jo apni ladkiyon ko bahar bhejte hai….jo log Ferrari me ghoomtey hain, first class kapdey pahantey hain… Log yeh nahi dehktey… Iss beti ne bhi short-cut ravaiyya apnaya hai.. Yeh raah se bhatki hui beti hai… (The families that send their daughters out should also think. They move in a Ferrari and wear first-class clothes… People don’t see such things… This daughter has taken the shortcut, she has taken the wrong path)”.

On social media, netizens condemned his comments against the people of Chamba working in the industrial towns.

Meanwhile, the Chamba police are yet to receive a formal complaint against Hans Raj from the victim or her family. Sources said that the only complaint received was from the Mahila Janwadi Samiti.

The Samiti lodged a complaint with the State Women’s Commission, which subsequently referred it to the Chamba police for a report.

Sources added that a cancellation report was recommended in the earlier registered FIR against Hans Raj. That FIR was registered following a complaint from the same woman, who has been levelling allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party leader on social media for the last five days.

They added that although the police submitted the cancellation report after the victim retracted her allegations, it is yet to be accepted by a local court in Chamba.