Sisters thrash Congress’s Jalaun district chief over ‘sexual harassment’

“One Anuj Mishra is the district president of Congress here. A woman here has given us a complaint and we have registered an FIR against Mishra under IPC section 354A [sexual harassment] against him. As per the complaint, he used to call her regularly, harass her. As per the information, both the sides knew each other for around 5-6 years. Their families also knew each other. Both the accused and victim are from different localities,” said Jalaun SP Yesh Veer Singh. Asked if the police had received complaints from the woman in the past, Singh said he had asked the concerned police stations, but so far they have not found any previous complaints. Mishra, who has been the party district president for a year, does not have a criminal record, the police officer added.

In the viral video, the sisters are seen beating Mishra with sandals as passers-by record the incident. The sisters also tear his shirt, and ask him if he will do such a thing again. Mishra is then seen begging the two to let him go, and touches one of their feet. According to police officials, the sisters confronted the Congress leader around 1 pm at the Railway Station road.

State Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu told The Indian Express that a five member-committee headed by former Union minister Pradeep Jain Aditya had been set up by the party’s disciplinary committee.

“The Congress disciplinary committee has issued a show-cause notice to both. As per the information given to us, the woman was recently removed by Mishra from her post as she was not coming to work for the last one-and-half months. Even in the past, Mishra has complained to us that the woman has not been working properly. I believe that the matter has a lot to do with politics,” said Lallu. He denied claims that the woman had complained to him about Mishra in the past.