The Judicial Magistrate’s court here on Friday remanded Suman Singh Waldia, Joint Secretary (Social Welfare), in judicial custody for 14 days for alleged involvement in a high profile sex scandal. A woman accused J.P. Joshi, Additional Secretary (Home), of having raped her for a long time on promise of getting her a job.
Mr. Joshi and another accused Neeraj Chauhan are already in judicial custody.
Director-General of Police B.S. Sidhu said on Thursday that Mr. Waldia was arrested for allegedly asking the woman to record the act on a Compact Disk which he wanted to use to defame Mr. Joshi.
It was Neeraj Chauhan, arrested last week for allegedly helping the woman in making the CD, who told interrogators that Mr. Waldia had prompted her to make the CD.
Some of the “co-conspirators” allegedly used copies of the CD to blackmail Mr. Joshi, and the woman lodged an FIR last month charging him with rape. In his counter FIR, Mr. Joshi alleged blackmail by the woman and the other two men.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand State Secretariat Employees and Officers Federation, after a meeting on Friday, described Mr. Waldia’s arrest as a serious matter and sought a time-bound probe.
“The law must take its course if the allegations against him are found true,” said a spokesman of the Federation, of which Mr. Waldia is former president.
Describing the arrest of two senior bureaucrats as unfortunate, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna directed the DGP to take stern action against all those found guilty.
