A scheduled Caste woman from Bhagalpur has accused the Bihar Assembly Speaker, his brother, and some policemen of rape.Reena Devi of Rangra Chowk, in Gopalpur police station limits, has filed a complaint in a local court naming Speaker Sadanand Singh, his brother Vivekananda Singh alias Mantu Singh, Kahalgaon DSP Shatrugan Singh, and the officer-in-charge of Kahalgaon, Ghogha and Sanokhar police stations. She has charged them with gangrape, illegal confinement, and torture.The complaint was submitted before the Bhagalpur Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) on Wednesday. The CJM has transferred the case to the First Class Judicial Magistrate L.L. Srivastava for inquiry.On telephone from Bangalore, Sadanand Singh said the complaint is politically motivated and false. ‘‘This is a move to malign me and is politically motivated. On the date given in the complaint, I was in Patna. I have proof. This will be proved,’’ he said. He had gone to Bhagalpur over his grandson’s (Sagar) kidnapping but had returned on the date mentioned in the complaint, he said.‘‘The CBI and even higher authorities can investigate the case and they will find it baseless. This is concocted. I can’t believe this kind of allegation has been levelled against me.’’ The Speaker is now in Bangalore for the All India Presiding Officers’ Conference.According to police sources, Reena Devi is under investigation in the Sagar abduction case. Her husband too is alleged to have a criminal record. The police, named as co-accused, too have alleged political motivation.Opposition parties in the state have refused to react to the allegations. ‘‘We won’t be reacting on this. This is politically motivated,’’ a senior BJP leader said.According to Reena Devi, on May 4 the police took her father Jogi Dom into custody for Sagar’s abduction. Two days later, she says she went to Kahalgaon police station to find out about her father. She was allegedly put in the lock-up where she says policemen assaulted her.Though her father was let off later, Reena Devi alleges she was detained and tortured for 20-25 days by policemen and Vivekananda Singh. On June 5, she says she was taken to the Speaker who allegedly raped her. The abducted boy, Sagar, was rescued from Haldwani early this month after two months in captivity.
