Dehradun: The Uttarakhand Police on Saturday booked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Harak Singh Rawat after a complaint on charges of rape and harassment was lodged against him.
According to report, the complaint was lodged by a 32-year-old woman at Safdarjung police station in New Delhi.
The woman, who hails from Assam, alleged in her complaint that Rawat assaulted her sexually two year back.
Rawat has faced similar complaints in the past. In 2014, he was booked for allegedly molesting a 30-year-old woman, also in New Delhi, as reported by IANS. While the incident happened in September 2013, he was charged only the next year. According to the police, the woman has filed a written complaint, saying Rawat misbehaved with her and touched her inappropriately, when she met him.
Harak Singh Rawat was agriculture minister in Vijay Bahuguna’s cabinet. He continued as minister when Bahuguna was succeeded by Harish Rawat. However, in May 2016, he along with 8 other Congress MLAs, rebelled against the Uttarakhand government, the rebel leaders led by former CM Vijay Bahuguna. Harak Singh Rawat was expelled from Congress. Rawat was the second most powerful MLA to have rebelled.
Rawat was suspended from Congress earlier in May this year. He was one of the primary rebel Congress leaders, leading against Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat.