By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
With Uttarakhand heading towards Assembly elections in early 2027 and the BJP government facing renewed political heat over its handling of the Ankita Bhandari murder case, fresh allegations of rape against senior Congress leader and former minister Harak Singh Rawat have stirred another political controversy in the hill state.
Twenty three years after Congress leader and former Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat was given clean chit, Jenny, an Assamese unwed mother, on Saturday again alleged that he raped her when she was 16 and demanded a fresh CBI investigation and a DNA test to establish whether he is the biological father of her son.
Rejecting the allegations, Rawat claimed that he had already been given a clean chit by the CBI and that the court had closed the case. He threatened defamation suits against Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt, Jenny and other people who are highlighting this case.
Meanwhile, Director General of Police (DGP) Deepam Seth has ordered a police investigation into Jenny’s fresh complaint after she submitted a written representation to the police headquarters. The investigation has been entrusted to Circle Officer (Doiwala) Vandana Verma, who has been asked to examine the allegations and take necessary legal action based on the findings.
Holding back her tears, Jenny while narrating her alleged ordeal claimed that she had come to Dehradun in October 2002 when she was just 16 years old and stayed for nearly two months at Rawat’s residence in Yamuna Colony. She alleged that Rawat sexually assaulted her during that period and that she subsequently gave birth to a son. She further claimed that she was later kept in a mental asylum under the pretext of providing her accommodation in a hostel.
Questioning the earlier CBI investigation, Jenny alleged that the investigating agency had not properly recorded her account and that she was not given an adequate opportunity to explain what had happened to her.
“I did not know Hindi at that time. I could understand hardly 10 per cent of what people told me. I was asked to sign documents, but nobody explained to me what I was signing,” she said, also alleging that her lawyer had acted in favour of Rawat rather than defending her interests.
She claimed that a CBI official had visited her only once when she was admitted to the mental institution and questioned whether such a limited interaction could have constituted a proper investigation.
Jenny also questioned the earlier DNA investigation, alleging that the necessary samples had not been collected from her and her son. She demanded a fresh DNA test to establish whether Rawat was the biological father of her son, who she said was now 23 years old.
“My son has grown up without a father. I do not want anything for myself. I only want justice for my son. I demand a fresh CBI investigation and a DNA test,” she said.
She also alleged that when she had earlier approached the authorities seeking justice, police personnel had threatened her and forced her to leave Dehradun. She claimed that she had been warned against returning to the city and told that she could be sent to jail if she continued pursuing the matter.
Jenny said she had mustered the courage to raise the issue after Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami recently mentioned her name in a public statement. She said she had already submitted her complaint to the DGP and would pursue the matter until she received justice.
Responding to the allegations, Rawat strongly denied the charges and maintained that the matter had already been investigated by the CBI and closed by the court.
He said that if the earlier investigation had been manipulated or Jenny had suffered injustice, the responsibility lay with the BJP government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, which was in power at the Centre when the CBI gave him a clean chit.
“If there was any irregularity in the investigation or injustice to that girl, it was done under the BJP government,” he said.
Rawat claimed that Jenny had stayed at his residence for only two days before being sent to Nari Niketan. He recalled that when the controversy first surfaced in 2003, he had voluntarily resigned from the state Cabinet and demanded a CBI investigation and DNA test to establish his innocence.
He said he had then announced that he would neither enter the Assembly nor attend any public function until he received a clean chit.
Questioning the BJP’s present stand, Rawat asked why the party had inducted him in 2016 if it believed he was guilty. He pointed out that the BJP had not only given him a ticket to contest the Assembly elections but had also made him a minister.
Citing his victories in the 2007, 2012 and 2017 Assembly elections, Rawat said he had also received the people’s endorsement and established his credibility in the electoral arena.
Taking a direct swipe at the Chief Minister, he said, “Dhami ji, you have started this game, but its end will be decided by Harak Singh Rawat, along with your departure.”
Rawat accused the BJP of raking up the Jenny controversy to divert public attention from the Ankita Bhandari murder case, paper leaks and corruption allegations against the ruling establishment.
He claimed that the Congress would emerge stronger despite the BJP’s attempts to target its leaders and would continue its political struggle until the governments at the Centre and in the state were removed from power.
Meanwhile, BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt questioned the Congress leadership’s silence over the serious allegations against one of its senior leaders. He asked why the party had not publicly clarified its position on the issue.
The controversy has resurfaced at a politically sensitive time, with both the BJP and Congress trading allegations over the Ankita Bhandari murder case and other issues ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
The original Jenny controversy dates back to 2003, when Rawat was a minister in the Congress government led by the then Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari. Rawat resigned from the Cabinet after the allegations triggered a political storm, and the state government recommended a CBI investigation.
The CBI subsequently investigated the case, including DNA testing. According to reports on the earlier investigation, the DNA samples did not match, following which Rawat received a clean chit and the agency filed a closure report.
The fresh police investigation into Jenny’s latest complaint is now expected to examine her allegations and the circumstances surrounding the earlier probe.