Minister's spouse alleges Rs 210 crore hidden wealth amid assault FIR

Uttarakhand Women and Child Development Minister Rekha Arya's husband, Girdhari Lal Sahu, said she has hidden undeclared wealth of around Rs 210 crore. In a video posted Friday, he asked Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to order a probe by an appropriate agency into these alleged corrupt holdings, saying he will share details soon but offering no documents to back the claim. He also dismissed an audio clip that Arya had released, calling it fabricated and AI‑generated. Arya filed a first‑information report at Dehradun's Cantt police station on Thursday, accusing Sahu of physical assault, harassment, caste‑based slurs and death threats. She later was admitted to a hospital as her condition worsened, according to sources. The FIR cites three sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Sahu replied that the audio was meant to stir family discord and urged Arya to withdraw the FIR and retract her statements, labeling all accusations as baseless. In his video, filmed inside a car, he said he had managed her election campaigns for 17 years and warned that arrogance from holding office would bring consequences, invoking "Bhole Baba" as a warning. The opposition Congress demanded an impartial inquiry and asked CM Dhami about protective steps for the minister. Spokesperson Garima Mehra Dasauni described the episode as deeply distressing and called for a forensic check of the recording. ## Context Political spats involving personal and caste issues often lead to criminal complaints in Indian states, and investigations under the SC/ST Atrocities Act can take months, affecting both the officials involved and the party’s public image.