UP govt to withdraw rape case against minister

Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to withdraw a rape case lodged against State Minister Manoj Paras, who is among the group of legislators that yesterday left for a five-nation tour.
The six-year-old case was registered against the Stamp and Registration Minister in his native Bijnore district.
According to sources, the Law Department has written to the District Magistrate of Bijnore via its special secretary saying that the government wanted it to be withdrawn in the public interest.
An application would also be moved in the local court to withdraw the case against him, sources said.
The said case against Paras, MLA from Nagina constituency in Bijnore, was registered in 2007 following a court's order.

A 34-year-old woman had alleged that Paras, not an MLA then, had called her to his home on the pretext of helping her husband with business work and raped her.

Special secretary (Home) Rakesh Chandra, when contacted, said he had no information about it as the matter was related to the Law Department.
Meanwhile, BJP and Congress have condemned the move to withdraw the case.
BJP's chief spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said that the Samajwadi Party government which rode to power highlighting the criminalisation during the BSP government was itself promoting the same.
"Withdrawing case against a minister accused of rape even before court delivers judgement is mockery of the judicial system," he said. Pathak said that the government should have waited for the court's order.

Congress spokesman Amarnath Agarwal termed the effort to withdraw the case against Paras a criminal act and mockery of law and order.