Matang Sinh

Guwahati, Sept. 18: Former Union minister Matang Sinh faces summons from police after his wife lodged a case against him in Guwahati’s Paltan Bazar police station last night for allegedly torturing her.

Sinh, a former Congress leader, was a minister in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government and also a kingmaker.

“On the basis of her complaint, we have registered a case (number 563/08) against him at Paltan Bazar police station under Section 498-A IPC, which is a non-bailable offence,” the police officer said.

“We have asked the complainant to record her statement before a magistrate under Section 164 CrPC. We have started an investigation into the matter and if adequate evidence is found against him, Matang Sinh will be arrested,” he said.

In her complaint, Matang Sinh’s wife alleged that her husband was inflicting mental as well as physical torture on her for the past two weeks and had even threatened to kill her and their only son.

“The accused will be summoned for questioning. However, we have learnt that he has left for New Delhi this morning,” the officer said.

He said the complainant also told the police that her husband misbehaved and manhandled her yesterday in the morning in front of her staff in her office chambers on A.K. Azad Road at Rehabari.

Sinh, who is from Tinsukia, was elected to Parliament as a member of Rajya Sabha from Assam in 1992. He became the minister of state for parliamentary affairs in the government of the late Narasimha Rao in 1993.

However, he was expelled from the Congress in 2000 for “anti-party activities”.