Dehradun:Uttarakhand Cabinet minister Rekha Arya has lodged an FIR against her husband, Girdhari Lal Sahu, accusing him of physical assault, casteist abuse, forgery, infidelity and conspiring to murder her.

The complaint was registered at Dehradun's Cantonment police station on Thursday evening under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Arya, the state's women empowerment and child development minister, alleged that Sahu, also known as Pappu Girdhari, had concealed his previous marriage and children when he married her in 2004.

She said she learnt about his earlier marriage subsequently but remained silent following persuasion by family members and considering her children's future.

The minister alleged that Sahu maintained extramarital relationships and repeatedly assaulted, abused and threatened her when she objected.

According to the complaint, Sahu “began beating, hurling verbal abuses and threatened her with death”. She alleged that he also made casteist remarks in the presence of staff at her official residence.

Arya further accused Sahu of forging her signature to remove her as a director of certain companies without her knowledge or consent.

She said she recently received an audio recording purportedly containing a conversation between Sahu and another woman about a plot to kill her.

“The applicant is continuously facing a threat to her life and the lives of her minor children. This person can cause any big incident any time,” the complaint stated.

Dehradun senior superintendent of police Parmendra Singh Dobhal said an investigation was underway and efforts were being made to trace Sahu.

Meanwhile, Sahu denied the allegations in a video released on Friday, describing the audio recording as fake and AI-generated. He also accused Arya of possessing illegal assets worth ₹210 crore and demanded an investigation into the allegation.

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