Lucknow, Nov 10 (IANS) A special court in Lucknow on Wednesday pronounced former UP minister Gayatri Prajapati guilty in a gang rape case.
Two of his associates, Ashok Tiwari and Ashish Shukla, have also been convicted.
Judge Pawan Kumar Rai of a special MP/MLA court in Lucknow held Prajapati guilty of gang rape charges in the case under Sections 482/378/407 of the Indian Penal Code.
The quantum of punishment will be announced on Friday.
In this case, seven people, including Prajapati, were charged.
A woman from Chitrakoot had accused former Samajwadi Party minister and his friends of gang rape. The woman also alleged that the accused forcibly had physical intercourse with her minor daughter.
On the directions of the Supreme Court, an FIR was lodged against Prajapati and six other accused on February 18, 2017. All of them were charged with gang rape, threat to life, and violating the POCSO Act.
Apart from Prajapati, Vikas Verma, Amarendra Singh, Chandrapal, Rupeshwar, Shukla, and Tiwari were also charged in this case.
Prajapati and the other accused were arrested and imprisoned after the FIR was filed.
Tamil Nadu farmers association Deputy Secretary, P.S. Masilamani, who had participated in the farmers' agitation in New Delhi, told IANS that the farmers of Cauvery delta are "disturbed and outraged by the mowing down of fellow farmers and we are conducting peaceful protest marches in solidarity with the farmers of Lakhimpur Kheri."
A total of 28 civilians have been killed by terrorists in Kashmir in 2021, IG Kashmir Vijay Kumar said in a statement on Thursday. The statement further said that in all such cases, the terrorists used pistols.
Farmers allege that the minister's son was in one of the cars that mowed the farmers. Ashish has been named in the FIR lodged in connection with the incident under IPC Section 302 (murder).
Fortunately, no one is injured in the incident, which was the fourth such case in Bengaluru in the last 15 days. The families who lived in the apartment managed to escape as soon as they got the first indication.
According to the farmer leaders, the last rites of three farmers was performed as wish of their families and with full customs. While one family, demanding the re-postmortem, has refused to perform the cremation.
The Deputy Chief Minister, who is also holding the Health portfolio, said 2.16 lakh people got vaccinated on Tuesday. Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Patiala were the top five districts in immunisation.
