A day after the legislature’s executive officer accused him of physical and mental torture, the opposition Congress Saturday staged a protest against the Himachal Pradesh Assembly demanding the suspension and immediate arrest of BJP MLA Vishal Nehriya. Congress also demanded a high-level inquiry into the matter.
In the 11-minute video, which is being widely shared on social media, Oshin Sharma, an officer in the 2020 batch of Himachal Pradesh Administrative Services (HPAS), alleged that Nehriya slapped her three times on Thursday.
Sharma, who has been posted as a block development officer in Nagrota Suriyan in Kangra District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), has claimed that Nehriya repeatedly tortured her physically and mentally.
Sharma, who has now returned to her hometown, married Nehriya two months ago on April 26.
The HPAS officer claimed that Nehriya had also beaten her at a hotel in Chandigarh in February this year.
The BJP MLA neither responded to the calls nor the messages sent to get their versions.
In the by-election held on October 24, 2019, Nehriya (32) was elected as MLA from Dharamshala.
Sharma also alleged that her husband expelled her from his house on the fourth day of their marriage when she took a positive test for Covid-19.
She said she agreed to return when she threatened to harm himself.
The HPAS officer also said that she has known Nehariya since her college days. She said she had ended her relationship with him then when he used to beat her even in those days.
According to the official, however, Nehariya asked Sharma to marry him in 2019 after she became an MLA and she agreed when she thought he was genuinely interested in her.
Sharma also accused her in-laws of demanding dowry, saying her parents had given her a gold chain worth Rs1.20 lakh and a ring worth Rs1 lakh at the time of her marriage.
She added that her husband’s family had also accused her of violence.
A police official said Nehariya met with the Kangra SP and presented his statement on Saturday.
When asked to comment on the matter, BJP spokesperson Randhir Sharma said, “The video on the issue has gone viral. A written complaint has also been lodged with the police. The government is not going to put any pressure on this matter.”
“The issue is unfortunate, it shouldn’t have happened. It’s a family affair, matter of husband and wife affair. The police administration will take it seriously and the government will not put any pressure on it. I assure you for that, Sharma added.
