No relief for Gayatri Prajapati even as aide surrenders

Chandrapal Singh, a close aide of Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Gayatri Prajapati surrendered in front of a Lucknow court on Monday, hours after the Supreme Court refused to grant the minister any relief.

A bench comprising of AK Sikri and RK Agarwal remained firm in their resolve and denied the petitioners their request for a stay on the arrest.

On February 17, the SC had ordered UP police to file an FIR against Prajapati, investigate the case and file a report accordingly. On Saturday, a local court impounded Prajapati's passport and issued a non-bailable warrant against him. Prajapati who was last seen in his constituency of Amethi on February 27 where he had gone to exercise his right to vote with Singh has been "underground" ever since. A lookout circular has also been issued against the "missing" minister.

UP governor Ram Naik on Sunday wrote to Chief Minster Akhilesh Yadav seeking an explanation on why Prajapati had not yet been expelled from the Cabinet. "Serious question of constitutional morality and dignity arise on him remaining in the Cabinet", Naik wrote in his letter.

A women in her mid-30s has alleged that Prajapati and six others gang raped her in his Lucknow residence in 2014. And she was raped on and off since then. The victim claimed that initially she did not file an FIR as she feared for her life. However, her resolve to come forward strengthened when during the last incident in July 2016, the group who raped her, molested her daughter as well.