Jharkhand Agriculture Minister Randhir Singh on Tuesday allegedly slapped a woman at a religious gathering in Kalajhariya village in Jamtara district, reported the Hindustan Times.

Pinky Kumari, a zilla parishad member of the Congress from Sarath in Deoghar district, filed an assault complaint at Karmatand police station. The minister has denied the allegations and called it a “political conspiracy”. Bharatiya Janata Party workers also filed a counter complaint at the same police station.

“The complaints were lodged by both the parties against each other,” Jamtara Sub-divisional Police Officer Arvind Upadhyay told the Hindsutan Times. “We will investigate the matter and then lodge an FIR.”

Kumari said she was first asked to leave the event. “I told them that I won’t leave the place until villagers ask me to go,” said Kumari. “Then, they called up the minister. The minister came and started abusing me. He slapped me repeatedly and broke my glasses. Then he left the place following the protest from the villagers.”

Singh said it was a political stunt to defame him. “Actually, the lady slapped me and held my collar,” he told the Hindustan Times.

Jamtara Congress MLA Irfan Ansari sought Singh’s arrest. “He should be immediately arrested for abusing and assaulting a woman,” Ansari told The Times of India. “The state government should sack the minister immediately.”