Denying all charges, Dhananjoy Tripura said he would move the high court if necessary

An Indigenous People's Front of Tripura lawmaker has been charged for allegedly raping and deceiving a woman with promise of marriage in West Tripura district, a police officer said. The IPFT is an ally of the BJP.

The legislator, however, maintained that he was "wrongfully framed" in the case and opposition parties were trying to "malign his image".

In her complaint, the woman said she was "socially engaged" to the IPFT MLA from Rima valley constituency, Dhananjoy Tripura.

"The complainant stated she was engaged to the MLA. She also said that the accused maintained an intimate relationship with her, but later refused to tie the knot.

The MLA has been booked for raping and deceiving the woman. We have forwarded the complaint to a women's police station in Agartala," the officer stated.

Inspector General of police (Law and Order) Puneet Rastogi said an investigation has been initiated in the case.

"We have received a complaint from a woman against MLA Dhananjoy Tripura. The complaint was received at Mandai police station. As of now, we are carrying out a probe into the case and action will be taken based on the content of the complaint," he added.

Denying all charges, Mr Tripura said he would move the high court if necessary.

"This is a conspiracy hatched by opposition parties to malign my image as well as that of my party. The allegations against me and wrong and baseless," he told reporters in Dhalai district.

Mangal Debbarma, the spokesperson of Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), said he is yet to learn the details of the case.

"I have heard that a complaint has been lodged against one of our MLAs. But I do not have the details to make a comment on the issue," he told reporters.

The IPFT and BJP had secured 44 seats in the 60-member Assembly last year.