Congress MP Rakesh Rathore arrested in Sitapur sexual assault case; was in middle of press conference
PTC Web Desk: Congress MP Rakesh Rathore was arrested on Thursday in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur in connection with a sexual assault case filed by a woman. Rathore, who represents Sitapur, was taken into custody by the police while he was in the middle of a press conference at his home.
His arrest came a day after the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea in the case. Rakesh Rathore is accused of sexually exploiting a woman for four years under the pretext of marrying her. The order was passed by a single Bench of Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan after hearing Rathore’s plea.
The lawyer representing the petitioner argued that the woman filed the complaint after four years and claimed that Rathore had been falsely implicated. The High Court disposed of the plea and directed him to surrender in the sessions court within two weeks.
On January 17, the Uttar Pradesh Police registered a case against Rathore following the woman’s complaint. Three days later, the Congress MP’s counsels, Arvind Masdalan and Dinesh Tripathi, filed a petition seeking anticipatory bail in Sitapur. An MP-MLA court in Sitapur rejected Rathore’s anticipatory bail plea on January 23.
- With inputs from agencies