A special court on Friday sentenced former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prajapati, a key figure in Akhilesh Yadav’s cabinet, to life imprisonment in a gang rape case. Prajapati, along with two of his accomplices, were on Wednesday convicted on charges of gang rape and under sections of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.
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The court had on Wednesday said it would decide the quantum of punishment on Friday, November 12. It had also imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on the convicted SP leader.
One of the linchpins of the Samajwadi Party, Prajapati held key portfolios of the transport and mining ministries during the Akhilesh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh. The leader was arrested in March 2017 on charges of gang-rape of a woman and sexual harassment of her daughter. Special judge PK Rai on Wednesday pronounced Prajapati and two other accused, Ashok Tiwari and Ashish Shukla, guilty and asserted that the prosecution was successful in proving its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court, however, acquitted Vikas Verma, Roopeshwar, Amrendra Singh alias Pintu and Chandrapal, for lack of adequate evidence. The prosecution had produced as many as 17 witnesses in the case.
The court had also ordered the Commissioner of Police, Lucknow, to investigate as to what led the rape victim and witnesses, Ram Singh Rajpoot and Anshu Gaur to change their statements.
Gayatri Prajapati arrested in rape and molestation case
A Chitrakoot-based woman had accused the SP leader and his accomplices of raping her and molesting her daughter. The FIR was filed with Gautampalli police station on February 8, 2017, after the intervention of the Supreme Court hearing the petition of the woman.
Gayatri Prajapati was arrested and sent to jail on March 15, 2017. He was charged with rape, criminal conspiracy, and criminal intimidation. The former minister, along with others, is accused of raping a woman and attempting to molest her minor daughter. He is currently undergoing treatment for various ailments at the KGMU in Lucknow.
It might be recalled that in January 2017, a woman from Chitrakoot had alleged that Prajapati, then a Minister in SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s cabinet, along with his men, raped her and attempted to rape her minor daughter. Prajapati reportedly took photos and continued to rape her for two years by threatening to leak the photos. He also falsely promised to give her an important position in Samajwadi Party and a mining contract. The victim later filed a complaint. However, the UP Police refused to file an FIR. The woman then approached the Supreme Court, which directed the police to lodge a report. In February 2017 he absconded but was later arrested in Lucknow.
