A woman who accused former SAD minister Sucha Singh Langah of raping her for years retracted her charges in court on Wednesday, instead accusing police of being in cahoots with some politicians to frame the leader.
In a dramatic turn of events that began before the Gurdaspur byelection last year, the woman withdrew her accusations before Additional District and Sessions Judge Prem Kumar, Langah and his battery of lawyers, saying they were made under pressure. She also denied being in the video that went viral before the Lok Sabha byelection in October.
The woman accused police of making her sign blank papers, which she claimed were then used to defame her.
The court will hear the case on March 12.
While Deputy Superintendent (Special Branch) Gurbans Singh Bains—the supervising officer in the case—said he would comment only after he went through a copy of the victim’s statement, police sources said the developments have caught them off guard.
“First she moved an application before the SSP that she was raped. The SSP subsequently asked DSP (city) AD Singh to inquire into the allegations.
To strengthen her case, she not only recorded her statement under section 164 IPC in front of the judge but also handed over a video to the SSP to substantiate her claims. It was only after her allegations were found to be true that a case was registered under section 376 IPC (rape) against Langah. Now, suddenly, she says whatever she did was under pressure. It is developing into a curious case,” said an officer, preferring anonymity.
Meanwhile, Langah bail application will come up in Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 5.
Langah on Wednesday accused authorities of not allowing him appropriate treatment for his heart ailment.
He had been charged with rape, extortion, cheating, and criminal intimidation on September 29 last, and has been kept in Kapurthala jail after the woman had given police a video to corroborate her allegations. The woman had accused him of raping her several times since 2009.
