By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 11 Nov: The 23-year-old Jenny case involving serious allegations of sexual exploitation against senior Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat has now acquired an inter-state political dimension, with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma openly expressing support for the woman who has renewed her demand for justice. It may be reminded here that Indira Deori, also known as Jenny, met Sarma yesterday in Guwahati and apprised him of her ordeal and her efforts to seek justice in the case dating back to 2002-03. Earlier, Jenny had recently returned to Dehradun from Assam and had levelled fresh allegations against Rawat.
Sarma disclosed the meeting in a post on social media platform X today. Expressing strong support for Jenny, he wrote that, yesterday, he had met Jenny, a resident of Assam. He also added that what a person named Harak Singh Rawat from Uttarakhand did to her was extremely wrong and reprehensible. The atrocities she suffered should never happen to anyone. Sarma added that he stands firmly by her side in this fight for justice.
The Assam CM’s public endorsement has given the controversy a fresh political dimension, particularly as Jenny has made it clear that she intends to pursue her demand for a fresh investigation and DNA test to establish the paternity of her 23-year-old son.
Meanwhile, in Dehradun, Harak Singh Rawat and other Congress leaders have claimed that a person, Bablu, is Jenny’s husband and that her child’s father’s name in the Dehradun Nagar Nigam records is registered as Rajkumar Tiwari. Rawat has dismissed the allegations levelled by Jenny as false.
The case had resurfaced following recent political developments in Uttarakhand. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had referred to the controversy while responding to a question, bringing the 2003 episode back into the political discourse. Following Dhami’s remarks, Jenny travelled to Dehradun and addressed a press conference at the Uttaranchal Press Club on 7 November, where she levelled fresh allegations against Rawat, accusing him of sexually exploiting her when she was around 16 years old. She also questioned the manner in which the original investigation had been conducted and alleged that she had not been given a fair opportunity to present her version of events.
Jenny has sought a fresh CBI investigation into the case and another DNA test to establish the identity of her son’s biological father. She has questioned the earlier DNA-testing procedure and has even alleged that her son’s samples were not properly collected during the original investigation. She has also claimed that she was unable to understand certain documents during the earlier proceedings because of language-related difficulties and was made to sign papers without fully understanding their contents. Besides seeking a fresh investigation, she has reportedly sought protection, alleging that she has faced threats.
Following her press conference, Jenny submitted a written complaint to Uttarakhand DGP Deepam Seth, seeking appropriate legal action and a fresh investigation. The complaint was subsequently forwarded to the Dehradun Police for examination. SSP Dehradun Parmendra Dobal has assigned the preliminary inquiry to Doiwala Circle Officer (CO) Vandana Verma. At the moment, the progress of the probe is not public. The police claim to be examining the allegations and the circumstances surrounding the earlier investigation before deciding on the appropriate legal course of action. It remains to be seen whether the fresh complaint will result in the registration of a new FIR or whether the police will first examine the previous CBI investigation and the possibility of pursuing the matter further on the basis of any new material.
Meanwhile, Rawat has strongly rejected the fresh allegations, describing the controversy as a politically motivated attempt to damage his reputation. He has accused the BJP of reviving the old case to divert public attention from the Ankita Bhandari murder case and other controversies involving the ruling party. He has maintained that the CBI had already investigated the matter extensively and that the DNA test and subsequent closure report had established that he was not the child’s biological father. Rawat has also made public documents relating to the earlier CBI investigation and DNA test to substantiate his position. Medical documents from the hospital where Jenny had delivered the child have also been circulating on social media, adding another dimension to the renewed controversy.
Rawat has further challenged the allegations and indicated that he is prepared to undergo another DNA test if directed by a court. He has also accused those reviving the controversy of conspiring to tarnish his political image and has threatened legal action against Jenny and others whom he believes are attempting to defame him.
With Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma now publicly backing Jenny, the controversy is no longer confined to the political landscape of Uttarakhand. While Sarma’s intervention has given the complainant additional political support, the crucial question remains whether the fresh allegations and material presented by her will provide sufficient grounds for reopening a case that was investigated by the CBI and closed more than two decades ago. The immediate focus is now on the Dehradun Police inquiry and the legal options available to both sides.
It may be recalled that the controversy had first erupted in 2003, when Jenny, who was then a minor, gave birth to a child at a government hospital in Dehradun. She had alleged that Harak Singh Rawat, who was then a Cabinet Minister in the ND Tiwari-led Congress government, was responsible for her pregnancy and was the biological father of the child. The allegations had triggered considerable political turmoil in Uttarakhand at the time, eventually forcing Rawat to resign from his ministerial position. He had also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the allegations, which was subsequently conducted.
The CBI investigated the matter and conducted a DNA test as part of its probe. The test reportedly did not establish a biological relationship between Rawat and the child, following which the investigating agency filed a closure report and Rawat received a clean chit. The matter was subsequently closed by the court.
