Woman who accused Haryana BJP chief Badoli of rape booked for extortion; cancellation report in case filed in Himachal Pradesh

Shimla/Panchkula: Six people, including a woman who had accused Haryana BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli and singer Rocky Mittal of rape, have been booked for extortion and criminal intimidation, police said on Friday.

In a related development, the Himachal Pradesh police filed a cancellation report in a court in the alleged gangrape case against Badoli and Mittal.

Superintendent of Police, Solan, Gaurav Singh told PTI the cancellation report was filed in court recently as no truth was found in the allegations and due to lack of evidence.

Statements of 18 people, including the woman and accused were recorded. There were contradictions in the statements of the complainant and no CCTV footage was found to support the claims of the woman, officials said.

Badoli and Mittal were booked by the Himachal police in December last year after the woman alleged that she was raped by them in a hotel in Kasauli.

On Mittal's complaint, police in Panchkula on Wednesday booked six people on charges which include extortion, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy.

Mittal, who had earlier served as the chairman of the special publicity cell of the Haryana government, said he was contacted by the woman in September last year.

Mittal cited several phone calls from the woman complainant and her associate in September last year and claimed they threatened to implicate him and Badoli in a "honey trap" case.

The accused demanded Rs 50 lakh for a compromise in the gangrape case and put pressure on him to arrange a meeting with Badoli, Mittal said in his complaint, while adding he refused to heed to the demand.

The accused had also turned up at Mittal's under-construction house accusing him of financial fraud.

According to Mittal, the accused threatened him after which he had lodged an online complaint with the police here.

Mittal stated that when the accused failed to trap him, they lodged a false case against him and Badoli in Himachal last year.

According to the FIR lodged by the woman in Himachal earlier, she was staying in a hotel in Kasauli with her employer and friend when they met Badoli and Mittal on July 3, 2023. While Badoli introduced himself as a political leader, Mittal introduced himself as a singer.

Later, the woman and her friend went into a room with the two, who promised to help the complainant get a government job and a chance to feature in a music video, the FIR had said.

The accused allegedly forced the complainant to drink liquor. When she refused, they raped her, she had alleged in her complaint.

Based on the woman's complaint, the Himachal police had registered case against Badoli and Mittal under sections 376 D (gang rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).