Girdhari Lal Sahu (left), 61, was arrested on Friday by a an SIT after Rekha Arya (right) alleged that Sahu concealed his previous marriage and the existence of his children from his first wife when he married her in 2004. (Express photo)The husband of Uttarakhand Cabinet Minister Rekha Arya has been arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi, more than three weeks after a case was registered against him on the minister’s complaint, alleging assault, fraud, caste-based abuse, and conspiracy to murder, police said.Girdhari Lal Sahu, 61, was arrested on Friday by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Dehradun Police to investigate the case, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pramendra Singh Dobal said on Saturday.Sahu had been absconding since October 15, when an FIR was registered against him at Dehradun’s Cantt police station. A non-bailable warrant was subsequently issued against him, prompting police teams to conduct raids at several locations in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.In her complaint, Arya alleged that Sahu concealed his previous marriage and the existence of his children from his first wife when he married her in 2004. She said she learnt about his earlier marriage only after their (Arya and Sahu’s) children were born.The minister, who holds the Women Empowerment and Child Development portfolio, also accused her husband of subjecting her to physical and verbal abuse and using caste-based slurs against her in front of staff members.Must Read | ‘I’m a public representative, yet I faced this’: Uttarakhand minister who accused husband of assaultAnother allegation concerned the alleged use of forged signatures and fabricated documents to remove Arya, without her knowledge or consent, from the directorship of four companies. The police investigation has identified Rathore as an alleged beneficiary of the changes, with investigators claiming that he was appointed director in the four companies after Arya was removed.Following the FIR, Arya posted a video on social media in which she shared an audio recording, purportedly capturing Sahu conspiring to have her killed.Story continues below this adSahu, subsequently, released a video denying the allegations and asking Arya to withdraw the complaint. He also accused the minister of possessing assets worth Rs 210 crore, disproportionate to her known sources of income, and appealed to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to order an investigation.Sahu further claimed that the audio recording shared by Arya had been generated using artificial intelligence (AI), alleging that it was intended to damage their marriage.Police said Sahu is being questioned by the SIT as part of the ongoing investigation.An Award-winning journalist covering the state of Uttarakhand, Vidheesha Kuntamalla has reported on ... Read More Tags:assault caseUttarakhand