Rape case: Airports on alert for Gayatri Prajapati; victim's kin alleges death threat
New Delhi: Airports across the country have been alerted about the possibility of UP Minister Gayatri Prajapati, accused of rape, trying to flee the country.
A Letter of Cancellation (LC) will soon be opened against him and all airports have been alerted to prevent the 49-year-old Prajapati from fleeing the country, official sources said.
A letter of cancellation is a technical term used for alerting immigration authorities about any possible move by a suspect to leave the country.
Whenever passport of the suspect comes for immigration clearance at any exit point of the country, the computer screen warns the official to not let the person leave.
The Sashtra Seema Bal (SSB), guarding Uttar Pradesh's border with Nepal, has also been alerted about the possibility of such a move by Prajapati.
The UP Police has registered an FIR against the ruling Samajwadi Party politician, who continues to elude them, for allegedly gang-raping a woman and molesting her daughter with his aides. The FIR was filed recently following a directive of the Supreme Court after the alleged victim woman approached it.
A relative of the woman has alleged that a UP Police officer, who had come to AIIMS to record the victim's statement, threatened to kill them in a fake encounter.
In a complaint filed at Hauz Khas police station, one of their kin has alleged that a DSP-rank officer of the UP Police yesterday barged into a ward at AIIMS, where the victim's 16-year-old daughter is admitted, threatened them and snatched their mobile phones.
The victim's daughter, who was also allegedly sexually assaulted by the minister, is undergoing treatment in a restricted ward of AIIMS. "The lady officer pushed the girl who is undergoing treatment and pestered the mother to record the statement.”
"When we objected to it, the officer threatened to get us killed in a fake encounter," alleged the complainant, who claimed to be a cousin of the victim.
Delhi Police sources said that policemen had gone to AIIMS yesterday upon receiving a PCR call from the victim's family. However, they found nothing that substantiated their allegations about their phones being snatched and they being threatened by the UP Police.
"We have received a complaint from them and it is being examined. In case something comes out in the investigation, we will register an FIR," said a senior Delhi Police officer.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Amita Singh had yesterday recorded the statement of the victim and her daughter amid opposition by their family members at AIIMS.
The statement was videographed as per the rules under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, they added.
The statement of the victim was recorded before a chief metropolitan magistrate in Lucknow last week.
"The complainant has requested for protection from the UP Police and necessary action against the police personnel.”
"An inquiry into the complaint revealed that the UP Police official had got the nod from AIIMS authorities to examine the minor," a senior Delhi Police officer said.
The victim, who had some doubts about Singh recording the statement, called lawyer Mahmood Pracha, who is representing the minor in the Supreme Court.
Pracha arrived at AIIMS and the remaining statement was recorded in his presence.
The girl, who was earlier staying with her mother at a hotel in Nabi Karim in central Delhi, had gone missing on February 11 before her medical examination at AIIMS.
Her mother had then lodged a complaint, following which an FIR under section 363 (punishment for kidnapping) of IPC was registered at Nabi Karim police station, police said.
The victim, however, had returned after a few days and said she was fine, Delhi Police said.
BJP accused Akhilesh Yadav of hiding Prajapati at his residence and said the chief minister had become a "patron" of criminals in the state. "The chief minister has hidden Gayatri Prajapati in his residence and the police is enacting the drama of carrying out raids to arrest him," state unit president of the BJP Keshav Prasad Maurya claimed.
"Can Akhilesh take a pledge in the name of the mother Ganga that Gayatri has not been kept at the CM's residence...if the Chief Minister really wants, Prajapati can be caught in ten minutes," he said.
The BJP leader alleged that Akhilesh had become a patron of big criminals in the state, adding that CM house should not be allowed to become a "haven for criminals".
Senior BJP leader Vijay Bahadur Pathak also charged the chief minister with campaigning for the gangrape accused and describing him as a capable leader before people. Besides, another minister Azam Khan had described the rape case as a conspiracy, he said.
"...such an attitude encourages people with criminal mentality. They show scant regard for women's safety and blatantly indulge in heinous crimes," Pathak said.
Acting on the Supreme Court's orders, police said they have been making efforts to nab him and they might even apply for cancellation of his passport so that the minister cannot escape from the country.
Interestingly though, the minister was seen moving freely from one place to other in his constituency seeking votes. The last time Prajapati was seen in public was on February 27, when he spoke to the media saying he will win with a huge margin and will work under Akhilesh once again.
Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav today promised full cooperation with regard to the case. "The matter is in the Supreme Court...The government will fully cooperate and go by its order," Yadav said in response to a question at a hurriedly-convened press conference.
When his attention was drawn to the tweet by state BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya that Prajapati has been hiding in the Chief Minister's house, Akhilesh asked the mediapersons to follow him with their cameras to check for themselves.
Akhilesh has been facing severe attack from the BJP over the Prajapati episode, especially since he is contesting as a Samajwadi Party candidate from Amethi and the Chief Minister had campaigned in that constituency.
