Sujanpur SDM Vikas Shukla has lodged an FIR against a woman who had earlier accused him of sexual exploitation. Shukla has alleged that the woman attempted to extort him, defamed his character, trespassed into his residence, issued criminal threats, and filed false cases to pressure him.
The counter-complaint marks a sharp twist in a case that has already stirred controversy in the valley. The woman had earlier alleged that on August 24, 2024, when Shukla was posted as SDM Kullu, he and his associates tried to molest her at his residence. She had claimed police initially failed to act until the Chief Secretary directed a probe. Shukla, however, rejected the allegations in a video statement, calling them “baseless” and accusing her of harassing him.
The fresh FIR has now turned the dispute into a direct legal battle, with both sides accusing each other of serious wrongdoing. While Shukla asserts that multiple internal inquiries have already given him a clean chit, the woman insists her charges reflect a pattern of exploitation and cover-up.
This is not the first time her name has surfaced in controversies. As per information, she has been allegedly involved in disputes and private settlements dating back nearly two decades. During her tenure as a panchayat sahayika in the mid-2000s, she allegedly threatened a superior with misconduct charges, resulting in a compromise rather than a court case. Some of the reports were also linked to her with accusations against other bureaucrats in Kullu and Shimla, where she is said to have invoked serious charges—including under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act—before quietly withdrawing them. Vigilance insiders, speaking off the record, point to her sudden accumulation of property worth crores in Kullu, despite her modest service background, as a red flag that has never been formally probed.
The latest FIR brings this murky history into sharper focus.
For now, the matter rests with the law. Whether Shukla’s FIR results in a stronger investigation or simply adds another layer of confusion will depend on how seriously the authorities pursue both sets of allegations.
