Lucknow: A woman in Uttar Pradesh has alleged that she was raped by BJP MLA Roshan Lal Verma’s son and the legislator from Shajahanpur had participated in the conspiracy to abduct her and confine her in a flat for nine days in 2012.
The MLA, who was in the BSP at the time of the alleged crime, has refuted the allegation and said that the Crime Branch and CID had investigated the charges against him and his son, Manoj, and found the claims to be bogus. He said that this case is being raised by the people of Samajwadi Party to malign his image.
The woman has demanded that the investigation be held afresh and has threatened self-immolation if no action is taken against the two.
"I want proper action against both Roshan Lal Verma and his son Manoj Verma. They should be sent behind bars. The local administration has asked me to wait till May 21. If they don’t taken action by then, I am going to immolate myself the same day," she told News18.
Accompanied by her father, brother and five-year-old daughter, the woman barged into a press conference called by the MLA to clarify the charges against him and his son at a Shahjahanpur hotel.
She was escorted out of the venue by local police, following which she squatted on the road outside the hotel to register her protest.
"I am receiving death threats from the 'goons' of Verma. I have sent letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath asking them to provide security and justice, which has been denied to me all these years," she said.
She alleged that the MLA and his elder son Manoj had abducted her on February 24, 2012, when she was coming back from school around 4 pm.
She said that the two gagged and blind-folded her and took her to an abandoned house. "I was raped by Manoj on the same day and kept in confinement for nine days. But then I managed to escape with the help of Vinod (Manoj's younger brother)," she said.
The woman and Vinod had later tied the knot in a court in July 2012. However, Vinod has deserted her now, she claimed. Giving clarification on the claim, the BJP MLA said, "The marriage has no legal status in the eye of the law as Vinod was already married and has not divorced his first wife from whom he has two sons."
The three-time MLA, who had joined the BJP in 2017, also claimed that the woman who is accusing him and his son of rape had an eye on his property and businesses.
The lawyer of the woman, Avdhesh Singh, rejected the MLA’s claim on police probe and said that the final closure report in this case was filed by CB-CID in the court citing lack of evidence. However, the report was turned down by the court, and now the court has asked superintendent of police, CB-CID, Bareilly, to probe the matter further. "The local police did register the case against the MLA and his son but they were not arrested because of Verma’s influence in the region," said Avdhesh Singh.
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