Patna: Trouble mounts for former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, as her daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai has accused her of physical assault and domestic violence.
The incident occurred on late Sunday evening, when she approached Rabri Devi to complain about her husband Tej Pratap Yadav’s supporters putting up posters near Patna University to defame her family.
Talking to reporters outside Rabri Devi’s official residence, she said “I just wanted my mother-in-law to intervene and ask her son Tej Pratap to remove posters which were pasted across the university campus to defame me and my father. Immediately after I approached her, she abused me and started pulling my hair. I was also beaten up and driven out of the house,” Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi’s son Tej Pratap Yadav’s wife Aishwarya Rai said.
Sources said that Aishwarya Rai later filed a written complaint against Rabri Devi accusing her of “harassment and physical torture”.
“The incident occurred in front of the staff and security guards. My mobile phone was also snatched, as it had plenty of evidence against all of them,” Aishwarya Rai said.
Police officials, however, said that they were waiting for a report from the team which had visited Rabri Devi’s residence on Sunday to investigate the case.
The posters which Aishwarya spoke about were also not found anywhere near Patna university. Sources said that the posters were removed immediately after the issue surfaced on Sunday.
This is not the first time when she has accused her mother-in-law Rabri Devi of harassment. In September, she was seen weeping outside the official residence of Rabri Devi.
Tej Pratap, who is Lalu Yadav’s eldest son, had filed for divorce within six months of his marriage with Aishwarya Rai. Sources close to Lalu Yadav’s family claim that he had cited compatibility issue as a reason for his divorce.
Aishwarya Rai, the granddaughter of former Bihar Chief Minister Daroga Rai and daughter of a veteran political leader and RJD MLA Chandrika Rai, had married Lalu Yadav’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav on May 12 last year. Yadav’s decision to divorce his wife had created a flutter not only within his family but also in the political circles.
Reacting to the issue Tejashwi Yadav said that his political rivals were using the incident to divert public attention from other core issues.
