Arya alleges that Sahu used casteist slurs against her in front of staff at her government residence. She also alleges he forged her signature to show her as removed from the post of director in some companies.
When she opposed these relationships, he began assaulting and abusing her and threatened to kill her, she alleged. She demanded that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami state what steps had been taken for Arya’s safety and what action had been taken on the complaint. “Our demand is clear: there should be a fair investigation into the complaint, a forensic examination of the audio, and if the allegations are proven, strict action in accordance with the law.
The two married under Hindu rites on July 6, 2004.
Her husband and the government had not reacted at the time of filing this report Arya, the BJP MLA from Someshwar in Almora district and a member of the Pushkar Singh Dhami cabinet, said in her complaint that she belongs to a Scheduled Caste notified in Uttarakhand. She says Sahu, also known as Pappu Girdhari, a resident of Jogi Nawada in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, is not a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and knew of her caste status from the outset. Arya said Sahu’s behaviour towards her changed recently and that she came to know of his “illicit relations” with other women. When she objected, he initially admitted his mistake and gave her a written and oral apology, but did not change, the complaint said. “On several occasions, he used casteist words in a humiliating manner in front of staff at the complainant’s government residence,” the complaint read. The complaint further alleged that Sahu forged her signature and used fake documents to show her as having been removed from the post of director in “concerned companies”. It said she “neither executed any such document nor submitted any resignation”. “If a minister of the state is herself saying that her life is under threat from her husband, and filing a police complaint against him, it is certainly a matter of utter shame for the government,” Congress spokesperson Garima Mehra Dasauni said. Women’s safety is not a political slogan; it is the government’s responsibility,” she said.
