Former Madhya Pradesh minister Umang Singhar booked for rape, assault of 'wife'

A 38-year-old woman, who claims to be the wife of the Congress MLA, alleged that he not only used to rape her, but also threatened to kill her and once hung her from the balcony.
Former Madhya Pradesh minister Umang Singhar. (Photo | Umang Singhar's website)
Former Madhya Pradesh minister Umang Singhar. (Photo | Umang Singhar's website)

BHOPAL: Congress’ three-time sitting MLA from Gandhwani (Dhar), Umang Singhar, was booked on Sunday evening, for domestic violence, rape, unnatural sex, criminal intimidation and abusive conduct-criminal assault u/s 294, 323,376(2)(n), 377, 498-A and 506 IPC at Naugaon police station of Dhar district based on the complaint of a 38-year-old woman, who claims to be his wife.

In her complaint, the woman (who had initially complained about the matter at a police station in Jabalpur district) alleged that Singhar, a former minister, established sexual relations with her at his official residence, and at another house in Bhopal, as well as a flat in Delhi-NCR on the pretext of marriage, but later refused to marry her.

She claimed in the complaint that Singhar finally married her in April 2022 at his house in Bhopal. “But just two months after marriage, he started displaying abusive behaviour with me, and often raped me and even forced me to perform unnatural sex,” she alleged.

She also alleged that the Congress MLA also forced her to use sex toys, shoot videos, and share them with his friends.

He often threatened to kill her and once hung her from the balcony of one of his houses, she alleged.

The FIR mentioned that he also allegedly physically assaulted and raped her at the house in Dhar district in October, after which she rang 'Dial 100', the emergency response service of the state police, but the cops were sent back by Singhar’s sister.

The FIR stated that the woman was again put through extremities by Singhar on November 2, after which she rang the 'Dial-100 service' again. The cops rushed to the house in Dhar and rescued her. She was then taken to Naugaon police station, but, to her surprise, instead of lodging a complaint against Singh, a case of assault and abusive behaviour, was lodged against her, based on the complaint of the domestic help working in Singhar’s house.

She alleged that it was in the name of the husband of the same domestic help that Singhar owns Benami assets.

Singhar, however, denied the allegations levelled in the FIR and alleged that the complainant of mentally and physically harassing him. “I’ve been framed in a false case, as I had complained at the same police station against her on November 2, about being blackmailed by her for Rs 10 crores, failing which she had threatened to get me implicated in a false case.”

The politician also claimed that he was being framed as he was a tribal.

Previously, too, when he was booked by the Bhopal Police for abetting the suicide of his woman friend Soniya Bhardwaj, he had claimed that he was being falsely implicated in the case as he was a tribal.

In the FIR by the woman, she has alleged that Singhar often “threatened to kill me just like Bhardwaj.”

Who is Umang Singhar?

  • The 48-year-old is one of the most powerful tribal politicians in MP. He is the nephew of former deputy Chief Minister late Jamuna Devi.
  • He was the forest minister in the erstwhile Congress government headed by Kamal Nath for 15 months. Then, he had created a flutter, by publicly accusing ex-Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh of running the government from behind the curtain as a “shadow CM” and of being hand in gloves with the liquor mafia.
  • Ahead of the July 2022 presidential polls, Singhar had alleged that tribal MLAs, including him, were being given offers of big money by the ruling BJP for voting in favour of NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.

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