MUMBAI: A 33-year-old Dubai-based woman has sought the registration of a First Information Report against Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale alleging he had raped her under the pretext of marriage and tweeted her complaint to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Dismissing the allegations against her husband, Shewale's wife Kamini termed them a "deliberate conspiracy" to tarnish the image of the Mumbai South Central MP who has been active in social and political life for more than 25 years.
In her complaint, the woman who runs a textile business has alleged that Mumbai Police had not registered the FIR despite recording her statement in the past.
She has alleged that Shewale has been "emotionally and mentally exploiting her" and raping her since 2020, a Mumbai Police official said on Tuesday.
The woman alleged Shewale had established physical relations with her saying his relations with his wife are strained. He told her that the two will get divorced soon after which he will marry her, as per the complaint.
"The MP used to invite me for dinner at the MP House in Delhi whenever I used to come from Dubai. In October 2021, I posted a video and photo of me and Shewale on Instagram, following which he lodged an FIR against me in Sharjah and I was arrested. I spent 78 days in jail but I was acquitted later," the complainant woman said over the phone on Tuesday.
The woman, who is visiting Mumbai, claimed she had lodged a complaint of rape against Shewale in April this year at Sakinaka police station but no further action was taken.
"I came to know that Sakinaka Police have registered an FIR against me for extortion and other sections of the IPC on Shewale's complaint. I provided all the proof to the police and also approached the National Commission for Women. I request the chief minister to take action against Shewale and direct the police to register the FIR against him," she said.
Sakinaka police on July 11 registered an FIR against the woman on the charges of extortion, cheating, and defamation under the direction of a metropolitan magistrate's court in Andheri on the application filed by Shewale.
The MP had stated in his complaint that the woman had approached him under the pretext of seeking financial assistance for her business, but eventually started extorting money by threatening to defame him.
He had stated in his complaint that the woman was pressuring him to divorce his wife and marry her. Shewale also stated that he had met the woman through a close friend in February 2020.
In her statement, Kamini Shewale referred to the FIR registered against the woman in the Sakinaka police station in Mumbai.
"The woman had been threatening to kill me and my family members for the past few months. A case was also registered against her in Sharjah a few months ago for intimidation with intent to extort, defaming the image of a dignitary and she was also jailed for around 80 days. The woman has a criminal family background. Her brother is serving sentence in a Delhi jail for raping and murdering a woman. This is a deliberate conspiracy to tarnish the political and social reputation of MP Rahul Shewale," she stated.
Notably, 12 Lok Sabha members of the Shiv Sena, who have sided with CM Eknath Shinde, on Tuesday met Speaker Om Birla in Delhi and requested him to appoint Rahul Shewale in place of Vinayak Raut as the party's floor leader.