Rajasthan minister booked for abduction, points finger at CM

He is one of the six MLAs who won the 2018 Assembly elections on a BSP ticket but later joined the Congress. Of late, he has been advocating for Sachin Pilot to be made the chief minister.

“My wife had warned me, ‘panga mat lo’ (don’t pick a fight) [with the CM]. If a case is lodged against a minister, then it cannot be without the CM’s knowledge, as the Home (department) is also with him. He could have taken information from me before the case was filed, on what it is about,” Gudha told reporters.

The FIR against Gudha was lodged on a complaint filed by Durga Singh, 43, a ward panch from Kakrana in Udaipurwati tehsil under Jhunjhunu district. Gudha is the MLA from Udaipurwati in Jhunjhunu.

In his complaint, Singh alleged that Gudha had threatened and abused him during a phone call a fortnight ago. On January 27, Singh reportedly got another call from Gudha asking him where he was. “I informed him that I am at home,” Singh said in his police complaint.

Gudha, his aide Krishna Kumar, and his driver, then allegedly went to Singh’s residence. “Apart from them, there were two other vehicles, including a police vehicle, and a total of 8-10 persons,” Singh said in his complaint.

The group reportedly included Bimla Kanwar, a woman to whom Singh had sold a plot of land earlier.

Police said the matter relates to money transaction linked to a plot of land, and Bimla Kanwar had approached Gudha for help. “The woman wanted to take her own life, and that of her two daughters,” Gudha said, accusing Singh of being a known “cheat.”

In his complaint, Singh alleged: “They (Gudha and others) forced their way into my house. When I opened the door of my room, Gudha pulled my out by my hand and collar… He abducted me, made me sit in his government vehicle, and then took me to his farmhouse.”

According to Singh, he was abused and assaulted. He said Gudha also spoke to Udaipurwati SHO and an advocate on the way. When they reached the farmhouse, Gudha allegedly warned Singh to stop opposing him if he wanted to leave the place alive.

Gudha then allegedly asked Singh to sign a blank cheque but later asked him to call his brother, Vikram, instead, telling Singh he didn’t have any money anyway. When Vikram reached the farmhouse, Gudha allegedly took a signed cheque from him. “(He then) let us go, threatening to come home and kill us if we took any action,” Singh said in his complaint.

The FIR has been lodged under IPC Sections 365 (kidnapping, abduction), 347 (wrongful confinement to extort property, or constrain to illegal act), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 143 (punishment).

Since the matter pertains to a sitting minister, the FIR has been sent to CID (Crime Branch), said police sources.