Gangrape case: UP tells SC: Prima facie case made out against ex-minister

The Uttar Pradesh government today told the Supreme Court that a prima facie case is made out against former minister Gayatri Prajapati in the alleged gangrape matter in which he is one of the accused.

The state government said that as per investigation, statements of the complainant and other witnesses, a prima facie case is made out against Prajapati who was a powerful minister in the erstwhile Samajwadi Party government.

A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan asked Prajapati to file a reply in two weeks on the counter affidavit filed by the state government.

The state government in its counter affidavit said that the trial court had framed charges against various accused including Prajapati and the trial was in progress.

"As a result of investigation, on the basis of the statements of the informant/ complainant, the statement of witnesses and the site inspection of the incident, it was concluded that a prima-facie case is made out against the accused petitioner Gayatri Prasad Prajapati and others...," the affidavit said.

It said that even the high court has dismissed the plea of Prajapati against framing of charges and his plea in apex court should also be dismissed with cost.

On February 23, the apex court had sought the response of Uttar Pradesh Police on a plea Prajapati seeking bail and challenging the Allahabad high court order in the case. Prajapati challenged two orders of the High Court dismissing his plea against framing of charge and of regular bail in the case.

Prajapati was sacked as a minister by then Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav from his cabinet in 2016 during a family feud with his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle Shivpal Yadav. He was later reinstated in the council of ministers in Uttar Pradesh.

An FIR was lodged in the matter at Gautampalli police station in Lucknow after the Supreme Court last year rebuked the state police during the then Samajwadi Party regime for not registering the case.

A Chitrakoot-based woman had accused the former minister and his accomplices of rape. She had also alleged that he had also attempted to rape her minor daughter.

In his plea filed before the apex court, Prajapati has said the allegations levelled against him in the case were false and baseless and he should be granted bail since the charge sheet has already been filed.

He has said that after the charge sheet was filed before the trial court, he had applied for bail which was rejected, following which he had approached the high court.

The apex court had in February last year directed the Uttar Pradesh Police to lodge an FIR against Prajapati and others in connection with the case of alleged gangrape. The order had come on a plea of the woman who had alleged repeated gangrape by Prajapati and others and sought the court's direction for lodging of an FIR.

She had claimed that the alleged incident had first taken place in October 2014 and continued till July 2016 and when the accused tried to molest her minor daughter, she decided to lodge a complaint.