woman-who-falsely-accused-12-men-of-rape-feted-by-cm-saini

That Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini conferred the Indira Gandhi Award on Women’s Day to a Jind-based social worker once jailed for filing a false rape case has left the state Bharatiya Janata Party government red-faced. Court documents show Rekha Dhiman had in 2020 falsely accused 12 men of rape, and has previously also filed false police complaints.

 

On Sunday, the Haryana Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) sought a time-bound report on the matter from the women and child development department. The government has also said strict action will be taken against those found guilty in this matter.

 

Talking to ThePrint Monday, Haryana government media coordinator Ashok Chhabra, confirmed that the CM Saini “has taken this lapse very seriously and sought a report from the concerned department”.  

 

The controversy is linked to the 8 March event where CM Saini honored 50 women from various fields. Rekha Dhiman, a social worker from Jind, was conferred the Indira Gandhi Mahila Shakti Award.

 

However, under a picture of the event shared by CM Saini on X, Savita Arya said, “a woman who has falsely filed rape cases against more than two dozen men has been honoured. Please ensure an investigation into who recommended her for this award.”

 

Talking to the media, Arya, who works at the Naari Tu Narayani Utthan Samiti, an NGO for women empowerment in Panipat, said that no amount of inquiries into the role of officials would yield any results because, in the end, the award is won by those who have a recommendation from a minister or an MLA.

 

“Deputy Commissioners in the district normally recommend the names of those who they notice working on the ground for women. However, the names recommended from the district rarely get any awards,” she said. “The ministers and ruling party MLAs either get their names included at the district level or get changed in Chandigarh. My own name has been recommended five times but to no results.”

 

When contacted by the media, Dhiman said that she had applied for the Indira Gandhi Award in Narwana subdivision of Jind district.

The 33-year-old further said that she was interviewed by district officials in Jind about a month ago, and that her name was forwarded for the award only after a proper investigation by the deputy commissioner’s office. She refused to comment on the controversy.