The Bhopal Police on Friday booked Congress MLA from Ater, Hemant Katare, for allegedly abducting and raping a 21-year-old journalism student, PTI reported. The student is currently in jail on charges of extorting money from Katare.

Bhopal South’s Superintendent of Police Rahul Kumar Lodha said the MLA was booked for rape, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation based on the woman’s complaint.

On January 24, the Bhopal Police arrested the student for allegedly demanding Rs 2 crore from Katare and then attempting to collect the first installment of Rs 5 lakh. Katare claimed that the woman had been calling him since January 17, threatening to file rape charges if he did not pay Rs 2 crore.

Lodha told PTI that the superintendent of the Bhopal Central Jail, where the student has been imprisoned, had forwarded her complaint of rape to police authorities. He added that the woman’s statement would be recorded in court and a medical examination taken before the accused could be arrested.

Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi claimed the allegations were false. “This is being done to harass Katare, who himself had filed a complaint against this woman for blackmail,” he said. “She was caught red-handed while accepting money from him.”