'Rs 5 crore demand, obscene posts, death threats': Actress Urmila Sanawar arrested after ex-BJP MLA’s daughter files complaint

DEHRADUN: Actress Urmila Sanawar was arrested on Sunday in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur in connection with a complaint filed by the daughter of former Uttarakhand BJP MLA Suresh Rathore over objectionable social media posts."The accused (Urmila Sanawar) is alleged to have posted obscene and defamatory remarks on social media-thereby outraging the complainant's modesty and tarnishing her family's reputation-and to have made WhatsApp calls demanding the transfer of a property to her name, along with a demand for Rs 5 crore and threats to kill the complainant," according to a statement issued by police.Police said the case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 4 and 10 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.Haridwar police took custody of Sanawar from Saharanpur on Sunday."Action was taken on a complaint filed by Deepika Rathore on Saturday night. Keeping in mind the sensitivity of the matter, a team was formed, and this team arrested the accused Urmila Sanawar from Saharanpur," Haridwar SP City Deepak Singh said.Sanawar, who claims to be the wife of Suresh Rathore, triggered a political storm with her allegations in the Ankita Bhandari murder case.Ankita Bhandari, a 19-year-old receptionist at Vanantra Resort in Pauri, was murdered by resort owner Pulkit Arya and two of his employees in 2022. All three were sentenced to life imprisonment in the case.Sanawar has alleged that a 'VIP' was involved in Ankita's murder."As per information received so far, she has nine cases filed against her," the SP added.Earlier, police had said they registered a case and arrested a woman within 12 hours of receiving the complaint, without revealing her identity.A video subsequently surfaced on social media, purportedly showing the arrested woman as Sanawar. She was scheduled to appear before a Dehradun court on Monday in connection with the CBI enquiry into the murder case.On Friday, she gave her consent before a CBI court in Dehradun to undergo a narco-analysis test in connection with the murder case.(With inputs from PTI)Stay updated with the latest Dehradun news. Download the TOI App.