Bhadohi BJP MLA Ravindranath Tripathi, nephew and 5 others accused of raping a woman, forcing abortion

The complainant has alleged that in 2017, Tripathi, the MLA from Bhadohi, and his six accomplices kept her at a hotel for a month and repeatedly raped her.

A woman has accused seven people, including sitting BJP MLA from Bhadohi, Ravindranath Tripathi, his nephew Sandip Tripathi and their five family members, of raping her repeatedly between 2016 and 2017. The woman has further alleged that she was forced to abort when she was two months pregnant.

Though the MLA has denied the charges saying he and his family have never known the woman, an FIR has been registered at Bhadohi police station on February 10. (File photo)

Though the MLA has denied the charges saying he and his family have never known the woman, an FIR has been registered at Bhadohi police station on February 10.

The victim, who belongs to Varanasi, told the police that the MLA’s nephew had established sexual relations with her in 2016 after promising to marry her. Claiming that her exploitation continued ever since, she alleged that during 2017 UP polls she was made to put up in a hotel in Bhadohi where the BJP MLA, his three sons and two nephews also established physical relations with her.

A senior police officer said a case had been registered under section 376 D (gang rape), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC against MLA Tripathi, his nephew Sandip Tripathi, his three sons Nitesh, Prakash, Deepak and other two nephews Sachin Tripathi and Chandrabhushan Tripathi following the complaint by the woman.

Bhadohi superintendent of police Rambadan Singh said, “The woman alleged that MLA’s nephew Sandip Tripathi met her on a Mumbai-bound train in 2014 when she was going to meet her parents. She claimed that Sandip took her mobile number and started talking to her. She alleged that MLA’s nephew had established physical relations with her on the pretext of marrying her.”

According to police the woman claimed that when she informed Sandip about the Bhadohi hotel incident, he asked her to keep mum and started ignoring her requests of marriage. She also said that he had recently threatened her with dire consequences if she talked about marriage.

The MLA rejected allegations calling them baseless and a conspiracy of people involved in illegal sand mining and land mafia to defame him and his family.