Trial in rape case against BSP MP to begin April 4

A court here Tuesday fixed April 4 to begin recording of evidence in a case against BSP MP Dhananjay Singh, accused for allegedly raping a woman over nearly four years.

The commencement of the trial was scheduled Tuesday but Additional Sessions Judge Sarita Birbal fixed it for Friday.

Dhananjay Singh, member from from Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur, had been charge sheeted Jan 31 for allegedly repeatedly raping a 42-year-old married railway employee between July 2005 and March 2009.

He was charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including sections 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural offence), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

According to the complaint filed by the woman, the MP allegedly raped her at gunpoint and threatened her with dire consequences if she reported the matter, police said.

Dhananjay Singh's defence counsel S.P.M. Tripathi has denied the charges.

Police said the husband of the woman was a businessman and known to Dhananjay and through him, she first met the parliamentarian in February 2005.

Dhananjay and his wife Jagriti, a dental surgeon at a government hospital in Delhi, are in jail after they were arrested in November 2013 in connection with their maid's torture and murder case.