Ex BJP MLA moves Guj HC seeking quashing of rape FIR filed against him

Former BJP MLA Jayanti Bhanushali has approached the Gujarat High Court seeking quashing of an FIR lodged against him after a 21-year-old woman accused him of rape.

The petition was listed in the court of Justice P P Bhatt but did not come up for hearing today.

Bhanushali's lawyer P B Khandheria said that the petition would come up for hearing tomorrow.

In his petition, Bhanushali has alleged that the rape case against him has been concocted by a gang led by Manisha Goswami.

In the petition, the former BJP MLA said Goswami had first targeted his relative Sunil Bhanushali and tried to extort Rs 10 crore from him.

But his relative approached the police and Goswami was arrested and jailed, the petition said.

Bhanushali's petition further claimed that, to extract revenge, Goswami had asked another member of her gang to target him.

A 21-year-old woman had filed a complaint with Sarthana police station in Surat that Bhanushali had raped her on several occasions between November last year and March this year after promising to get her admitted to a reputed fashion design institute.

Bhanushali, BJP MLA from Abdasa constituency between 2007 and 2012, has been untraceable since the case was filed and Surat police have issued two summonses asking him to appear before Sarthana police.