Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi, whose son has been accused of rape by a 23-year-old woman, on Saturday said the case is sub judice and, therefore, court’s orders would be followed. “Police are doing their job and so is the law. Law is the same for everyone. The matter is in court. Whatever the court orders, we will follow,” Joshi said, according to news agency ANI.
Also Read | Rajasthan minister’s son named in rape case
The Congress leader’s remarks came days after the Delhi Police, on May 8, filed a rape case against his son, Rohit, on the woman’s complaint. On May 15, a Delhi Police team arrived in Jaipur to arrest Rohit Joshi who, however, was found to be absconding.
Also Read | Delhi Police summon Rajasthan minister's absconding son in alleged rape case
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | Delhi Police summon Rajasthan minister's absconding son in alleged rape case
{{/usCountry}}In her complaint, the woman has alleged she was raped multiple times by Rohit Joshi at several places, including Delhi, between January 8, 2021 and April 17 this year, adding that the minister’s son also promised to marry her. The complainant also claimed that on August 11 last year, she discovered she was pregnant with her alleged rapist’s baby. Rohit, she stated, tried to make her consume a pill but was unable to after she resisted.
After the allgeations surfaced, Mahesh Joshi, who holds the public health engineering department in chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s cabinet, said ‘law will take its own course.’
Though the opposition BJP has been pressurising Gehlot to sack the Hawa Mahal MLA from his government, the chief minister, earlier this week, defended the 67-year-old leader, saying if there are allegations against someone’s son or brother, and if the said person is a minister, MLA or MP, he cannot be held guilty automatically only because he holds an influential post.