Double whammy for UP minister Gayatri Prajapati, SC orders FIR for rape

New Delhi: The problems of ruling Samajwadi Party and its tainted minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati were compounded following an order of the Supreme Court, on Friday, in which it directed Uttar Pradesh police to file FIR against him on the charge of rape and sexual harassment .

The decision against the UP transport minister came on a plea filed by a woman of Chitrakoot district of the state, accusing Prajapati of raping her several times in last two years. The woman had stated that the UP minister had promised to appoint her on senior post in the party. The woman had also alleged that Prajapati sexually harassed her daughter.

According to the 35-year-old victim, the FIR was not lodged by the UP police against the minister, despite her several attempts. The Apex Court has also asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file a report of the entire matter within eight weeks.

Gyatri Prasad Prajapati has been in the eye of the storm following ongoing CBI probe into irregularities in mining in UP during his tenure as mining minister. He has been the most controversial minister in the Samajwadi Minister with a large number of criminal cases registered against him.

The timing of the Court order must have come as a dampener for Prajapati who is contesting the UP elections as Samajwadi Party ticket from Amethi assembly constituency which is going to polls in the fifth phase on February 27. He is pitched in a fierce battle with Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Garima Singh, the estranged wife of former Congress heavyweight Sanjay Singh, the member of royal family.