Uttar Pradesh MP acquitted in rape case by Varanasi court

Varanasi: Atul Rai, MP from Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, was acquitted by a Varanasi court today. He has been in jail since 2019 when a woman accused him of rape.

He was accused by a 24-year-old woman from eastern Uttar Pradesh in 2018. She filed a complaint saying Rai raped her in 2018 at his Varanasi residence. The politician surrendered a month after the case was filed. He went to jail after winning the 2019 national election on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket.

The issue became viral on social media after the woman along with her male friend set themselves on fire and streamed it live on Facebook. The duo said they expect no justice and accused the Varanasi Police of colluding with the MP and his relatives. Both died of their injuries.

The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose had denied Rai protection from arrest. The High Court also dismissed his plea for anticipatory bail as there was no provision.

Rai had denied charges that he allegedly took the college student to his home on the pretext of meeting his wife. The authorities were not able to trace him and the police had to move to court for obtaining a non-bailable warrant. The court later granted the request to declare him proclaimed offender. The Varanasi court said if the MP fails to surrender within a month, the authorities can attach his property.

Atul Rai will remain in jail because there are other cases pending against him. He is accused in the abetment to suicide case filed by the Uttar Pradesh police in the same matter. His bail was rejected by the Allahabad High Court in July.

After the case was filed, the parliamentarian's brother filed a forgery case against the woman in November 2020. The Supreme Court also allowed Rai to take oath as an MP while on two-day parole.