Lucknow: A self-styled Hindutva activist has been booked by the Delhi Police after a woman alleged that he sexually harassed her in the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Bhawan premises on 26 May. According to her complaint, he took her there on the pretext of meeting senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari.
The accused has been identified as Rajvardhan Singh Parmar, national president of an outfit called the Maharana Pratap Sena. The FIR, accessed by ThePrint, was registered at Chanakyapuri police station a day after the alleged incident under IPC sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modest), 354a (sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Three officials of UP Bhawan — which is one of two residential buildings owned by the UP government in the national capital — have been suspended and an outsourced staffer has been removed from duty for allegedly giving the accused access to a room in a residential building of the complex, where the alleged incident took place.
In a tweet posted late Sunday, the complainant, who identifies herself as an actress, dancer and businesswoman, alleged that Parmar called her to UP Bhawan claiming he would help her meet Rajnath Singh and Gadkari, and later resorted to “objectionable behaviour”, and “sexually harassed” her.
Speaking to ThePrint, she said a team from the Chanakyapuri police station had visited the spot and taken the CCTV footage. “He misled me by saying that Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari are in UP Bhawan, and I could meet them. When I went inside, he said he had ordered lassi for me and that the leaders would be coming soon,” she claimed.
She further alleged that after she entered the room, Parmar allegedly went inside the bathroom and then came out naked and stood before her. “When I resisted, he twisted my hand and asked me to keep quiet or he could destroy my career. He took me to a nasha-mukt Bharat (drug-free India campaign) event, which was being held by an organisation in Chanakyapuri. I accompanied him, but fled from the event and approached the police,” she added.
The woman also claimed Parmar took her to the event to cash in on her “popularity”.
ThePrint reached Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Pranav Tayal via calls and messages, but did not receive a response. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
When ThePrint reached Parmar, he denied the allegations and called it a conspiracy to defame him.
According to him, he had met the woman only a day before the incident through a common acquaintance who told him she needed his support to enter the reality show Bigg Boss. “I helped her get some coverage in a newspaper. She sought Rs 50,000 from me on credit and now she is cooking these stories. My aim is a mazar-mukt and love jihad–mukt Bharat, and I am a Hindutvavadi leader. This is a conspiracy to defame me,” he claimed.
A senior UP government official told ThePrint on condition of anonymity that the state government had sought a report from the resident commissioner on the matter. “The latter gave his report on 27 May, following which the government took action against the three officials.”
Rigzin Samphel, resident commissioner of UP in Delhi, confirmed that all three officials have been suspended, while the outsourced staffer has been removed from duty. “An inquiry has been constituted against the manager in charge of UP Bhawan,” he told ThePrint.
‘UP Bhawan officials resorted to negligence’
In an order issued by the UP government on 27 May, Additional Chief Secretary S.P. Goyal stated that according to the letter of the resident commissioner, on 26 May, Parmar had requested the UP Bhawan staffers to show him one of the rooms in the building, claiming that a senior government official needed access to the same.
“The outsourced staffer Narendra opened room no. 122 at the behest of officials deputed to the reception. According to CCTV footage from the building, Parmar arrived with an unknown woman at 12.22 pm and left at 1.05 pm with her,” read the order, seen by ThePrint.
The order further stated that on 27 May, the Chanakyapuri police sealed the room for forensic investigation and other legal proceedings. It added that Parmar does not fall under the category of those permitted to get a room in the UP Bhawan, which only a specific number of dignitaries are entitled to.
“It was inappropriate for the staff posted at the reception, namely, senior receptionist Paras Nath, junior assistant Rakesh Kumar Singh and outsourced worker Narendra, to show a room to Parmar. The staffers and all of them have resorted to illegitimate and unrelated activities,” the order said.
The manager in charge of the building, Dinesh Kumar Karush, too, has prima facie resorted to serious negligence, mentioned the order, adding: “An initial probe reflects the negligence, lack of control over subordinates and arbitrariness in performing supervisory duties on his part, which is prima facie, violation of the UP Government Servant’s Conduct Rules, 1956.”
A departmental disciplinary inquiry has been constituted against Karush, which will be undertaken by Rajaram Dwivedi, joint secretary, state estate department.
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Ajmer dargah row to Qutub Minar controversy
The accused, Rajvardhan Singh Parmar, whose Facebook page has several photographs with senior BJP leaders, including Rajnath Singh, Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj, is not new to controversy.
He also has pictures with central government ministers, including Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and a host of UP ministers, including A.K. Sharma, Dayashankar Singh, Kaushal Kishore, among others.
Last year, the Ajmer police reportedly registered an FIR against Pawar for allegedly inciting religious sentiments. He had demanded that an archaeological survey be conducted at the Hazrat Khwaja Garib Nawaaz dargah in Ajmer, claiming that it used to be an “ancient Hindu temple”, and “Swastika and other Hindu symbols” had been found on its walls and windows.
In May last year, Parmar and other members of his outfit reportedly performed a puja at a Shiv temple in Delhi’s Connaught Place so that they could be granted permission to perform puja at the Qutub Minar. The Maharana Pratap Sena is among groups demanding that the Qutub Minar be declared ‘Vishnu Stambh’, according to an India Today report.
ThePrint also found that Parmar’s social media pages, including Facebook and Instagram, had several photos and videos of anti-drug campaigns where he claims to work towards the cause.
In videos he has uploaded on his Facebook account, he is seen demanding that the Qutub Minar’s name be changed to ‘Vishnu Stambh’ and Feroz Shah Road be renamed as ‘Bhagwan Birsa Munda Road’.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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