Chikmagalur :  A BJP MLA was on Friday booked for allegedly kidnapping and raping a 23-year-old woman in the district but the legislator dismissed it as “false” claiming it was a bid to extract money from him.

D N Jeevaraj, MLA from Sringeri in Chikmagalur district, was booked on charges of kidnapping, raping and intimidating the woman, a resident of Kesaki village, in May 2010, Superintendent of Police Abhishekh Goyal told. Two of his accomplices also were booked for the crime, he said.

In her complaint, the woman alleged she was kidnapped by one of the MLA’s associates at Kesaki village and guided to the waiting car, in which the accused was sitting, Goyal said. Jeevraj said there was no truth in the allegations by the woman and her brother-in-law and claimed they were trying to extract money from him.

“These are false allegations and an unfortunate development. The woman and her brother-in-law are demanding money and threatening to go before the media,” he said. Jeevraj said he had lodged a complaint in Vidhan Soudha (State Secretariat) police station on August 20 this year against the woman and her brother-in-law for demanding money from him. “The victim’s complaint today is a counter to my complaint,” he added.