The woman who has accused the Dwarahat MLA Mahesh Negi of sexual exploitation has filed a petition in the Uttarakhand High Court seeking protection from arrest and quashing of the FIR filed against her for blackmailing.

The wife of the MLA had earlier filed an FIR against the woman, accusing her of attempting to blackmail the MLA. The petition of the alleged victim will be taken up for hearing by the court on September 1. The single bench of justice Ravindra Maithani has also directed the investigating officer in the case to submit the Whatsapp chats between the MLA and the woman in the court.

According to the case details, the purported victim and two of her family members have filed a petition in the high court seeking quashing of the FIR lodged against them in the Nehru Colony police station in Dehradun. They have also sought a stay on their arrest.

The petitioners have claimed that the Dehradun police did not lodge their complaint but under pressure, lodged a case against them on the basis of a complaint letter given by the MLA’s wife.

 It will be recalled that the MLA’s wife has alleged that the woman and the MLA’s family live closeby in Dwarahat.

 Like other people, the woman too visited the MLA’s home often with her problems. The MLA’s wife has claimed that the woman phoned her and told her that she had given birth to a child of the MLA. She was seeking a sum of Rs five crore to settle the issue, threatening to “ruin” Negi’s political career if her demand was not met, alleged the MLA’s wife.