Police have registered a case of molestation against the MLA from Chimur assembly constituency in Chhandrapur district of Maharashtra on the complaint of a woman who also accused him of beating her husband, an officer said on Sunday. The MLA, identified as Kirtikumar alias Bunty Bhangdiya of the BJP, has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), he said. As per the FIR, Bhangdiya and a group of at least 15 to 20 people reached the house of the complainant late Saturday night and started abusing her husband.
They dragged the complainant's husband from the house and thrashed him. The complainant alleged she was molested and beaten up when she tried to rescue her husband. She also alleged that her family members, including two children, were beaten up along with a Congress worker from Chimur tehsil who is the brother of the victim's husband, the official said. Meanwhile, the MLA also filed a counter-complaint against the victim's husband for allegedly posting objectionable messages on social media against his mother. "A case of molestation has been registered against Bhangdiya along with other IPC sections for rioting, unlawful assembly, and obscene acts against 15-20 others," said Ayush Nopani, sub-divisional police officer, Varora. Police have also filed an FIR under sections 294 (punishment for obscene acts or words in public) and 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) based on the MLA's complaint, Nopani added. Police are investigating the FIRs lodged by both sides.