The Tinsukia Police recently submitted a report to their counterparts in Uttaranchal, after investigating the antecedents of Indira Deori alias Jenny, the complainant in the case involving former Uttaranchal revenue minister Hirak Singh Rawat. Rawat had resigned after Jenny accused him of being the father of her newborn baby in Dehra Dun. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had subsequently filed charges of rape against the minister, leaving the ruling Congress red in the face.

In their ramshackle house in Chapakhowa in Tinsukia district of Upper Assam, Jenny’s family members say they are still trying to come to terms with the one incident that has completely disrupted their lives. “We were shocked when the police from the Chapakhowa outpost arrived, enquiring about Jenny. Only then did we come to know about it all,” says Anima Deori, Jenny’s mother. They didn’t want people to know about Jenny eloping and so had as a result not informed the police when Jenny first disappeared, she says. According to her, Jenny had eloped with one Bubloo and reached Delhi in September, last year. However, on reaching Delhi, Bubloo deserted her, following which Jenny reportedly came in touch with Rawat.

According Akhil Kumar Nath, DIG Eastern Range, Assam, Jenny’s mother has said that Jenny that she is the daughter of Jawahar Jyoti Deori, a politician who contested the assembly polls from the Sadiya constituency a number of times. “Initially there was no formal request from the Uttaranchal Police, but once the reports started appearing in the media we were asked to investigate the matter by the Assam Police headquarters,” Nath said.

By Bijoy Shankar Handique (newsfiledelhi@hotmail.com)