Ex-UP MLA booked for rape after ‘second wife’ files complaint in fit of rage

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru police have booked Bhagwan Sharma alias Guddu Pandit, a former MLA from Uttar Pradesh, following a complaint from a 40-year-old woman, who has claimed to be his second wife.

In a police complaint, the woman alleged that the 51-year-old sexually assaulted her at the Taj Bangalore hotel located near the airport premises on Sunday.

On August 14, Sharma called her to the hotel and took her around the city. He took her to Chitradurga on August 16 before returning to the hotel the following day.

In room 582, he showed her intimate photographs and videos and sexually assaulted her. He also threatened to kill her when she resisted, she alleged.

Based on her complaint, the airport police booked Sharma under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (sexual intercourse obtained through deceitful means).

The woman initially told the police that Sharma had called her to Bengaluru with the promise of a registered marriage and raped her.

But later, she claimed that she was his second wife and regretted filing the complaint "in a fit of rage".

When DH contacted the woman over the phone for a comment, she declined to speak.

A police officer close to the investigation said they had issued a notice to the woman seeking documents related to her marriage with Sharma.

"The woman filed the complaint after quarelling with him. She now claims to be his second wife. We've asked her to submit the marriage documents. We have to follow the procedure," the officer said. "This case has frustrated us."

Sharma was MLA from Debai, Bulandshahar, for two terms, first on the Samajwadi Party ticket and then from the Bahujan Samaj Party. He's presently with the Shiv Sena and lives in Noida. The woman lives in Bulandshahar.