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UP BJP MLA, 5 family members get clean chit in rape case, nephew arrested
Bhadohi’s Superintendent of Police said the probe revealed that allegation against MLA his three sons were found to be false. The probe also revealed that his nephew Sandip Tripathi was involved in the incident for which he has been arrested.
The Uttar Pradesh Police said Saturday that allegations of rape against a BJP MLA, three of his sons and two nephews were false while another nephew was arrested from Bhadohi for the alleged crime.
Police said an FIR was registered on February 19 against seven people, including sitting BJP MLA from Bhadohi, Ravindranath Tripathi, his nephew Sandip Tripathi and five family members after a woman accused them of raping her between 2016 and 2017 and alleged that she was forced to abort when she was two months pregnant.
The FIR was registered at Bhadohi police station. Though the MLA has denied the charges saying he and his family has never known the woman.
Police said the 40-year-old 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 lawmaker, 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 three sons Nitesh, Prakash, Deepak and nephews Sandip Tripathi, Sachin Tripathi and Chandrabhushan Tripathi following the complaint by the woman.
A team had been constituted to investigate the matter, he said. A police team led by additional Superintendent of Police completed the investigation and submitted its report to Superintendent of Police Rambadan Singh.
“The investigation revealed that allegation against MLA his three sons were found to be false. The probe also revealed that his nephew Sandip Tripathi was involved in the incident for which he has been arrested,” the SP said.
The woman alleged that 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 and 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.
