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Ottawa police Deputy Chief Uday Jaswal is defending himself against sexual harassment allegations, saying he was the victim of an extortion attempt by the husband of his accuser, according to new human rights documents.

The extortion allegations are detailed in the deputy chief’s response to a human rights complaint filed by a female civilian police employee.

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Jaswal denies any sexual harassment and says instead that they had a “long-standing friendship” that sparked Jaswal’s romantic interest but only because he didn’t know she was in a serious relationship.

In Jaswal’s response he also says that what the woman described as unwanted touching was unintentional, awkward fumbling which the deputy chief immediately apologized for.

“Independent testimony in this matter will clearly demonstrate that this matter is only before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario because (Jaswal) accepted the risk of personal embarrassment, rather than undermining his integrity and breaching his ethical obligations by interfering in a hiring process,” says the response.