Family of rape accused Gayatri Prajapati at Raj Bhawan to meet UP Governor Ram Naik

Lucknow: Days after former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prajapati was granted bail by a special court in connection with a rape case, his family on Wednesday reached Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Ram Naik.

The development comes after special judge of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court Om Prakash Mishra last month granted bail to Prajapati, Vikas Verma and Amrendra Singh alias Mintu.

But to judge Mishra's dismay, the administrative committee of the Allahabad High Court later suspended Justice Om Prakash Mishra for granting bail to Prajapati.

Chief Justice DB Bhonsle took a grim view of the bail granted to the Samajwadi Party (SP) leader by the judge and all powers of the judge Mishra were seized by the court. 

Acting on a Supreme Court order, an FIR was registered against 49-year-old Prajapati and six others on February 17. Prajapati was then a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh.

After being on the run for nearly a month, Prajapati was arrested from the Aashiyana area here on March 15 and was sent to jail for allegedly raping a woman and attempting to rape her minor daughter in 2014.

Prajapati was a powerful minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government, who despite being charged in many cases, could not be arrested and became a major embarrassment for the Samajwadi Party government during the assembly elections. The BJP used his case to hit out against "lawlessness" in the state under the Samajwadi Party rule.

(With agencies inputs)