Former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) minister Sucha Singh Langah, who has been booked for allegedly raping a woman surrendered before a local court in Pathankot on Saturday even as he claimed the allegation against him as a “classic case of political vendetta.”
Gurdaspur Police had on Friday filed a case under Sections 376 (rape), 384 (extortion), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC against Mr. Langah, following a complaint by a women, who alleged that the Akali leader had repeatedly raped her on several occasions since 2009.
Gurdaspur Senior Superintendent of Police Harcharan Singh Bhullar said that along with her complaint to the police, the victim has also given a video of Mr. Langah allegedly raping her.
Following the FIR, Mr. Langah, who was a member of SAD's core committee, resigned from all party posts and said that he would be surrendering on Saturday. Later, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal accepted his resignation. He also quit the membership of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
Mr. Langah hit out at the Congress party alleging that the case against him was a classic example of political vendetta perpetuated at the most political opportune moment when the by-election of the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency is under way.
“The political witch hunt has started with the announcement of Gurdaspur by-election. I along with my party colleagues have met Punjab Director General of Police in last August and complained against police officials who had registered false cases against Akali workers and the leaders. Since then the state machinery and particularly the district police is hell bent on framing me in false cases in order to please their political bosses,” he said in a statement.
“This episode shows the vendetta politics of unknown proportions that the Congress party believes in,” he added.