Asha Dwivedi, wife of rape accused Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Purshottam Naresh Dwivedi, has come out in defence of her jailed husband, stating that “he lacked the physical prowess to indulge in a heinous crime like rape.”
Ms. Dwivedi said in a written statement that since “she is his wife she can say this with conviction.” She termed the MLA's arrest a “conspiracy by the Opposition parties” and threatened to commit suicide if justice is not delivered to her family.
She, however, said she had full faith in the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and that justice would be delivered once Ms. Mayawati came to know about the “actual facts,” and how the conspiracy was hatched by the Opposition parties to defame the government.
The MLA from Naraini (Banda district) had said before his arrest that he suffered from diabetes and blood pressure and was ready for medical examination.
Reiterating what he said, Ms. Dwivedi, flanked by their son Mayank Dwivedi, said that for the last 18 years her husband suffered from diabetes and blood pressure.
In the statement that was recorded in the Banda jail, she said the alleged rape victim did not say anything against the MLA.
Talking to journalists at the MLA's official residence here on Thursday, Ms. Dwivedi demanded that a medical examination and DNA test be conducted on her husband.
She said the alleged rape victim was not a person of good character. This could be confirmed from the “people of Shahbazpur, Harnampur, Lachhapurwa and Khaura Chowki villages [in Banda district],” she added.Ms. Dwivedi claimed that the girl's medical examination did not show any evidence of rape and physical assault. She even defended the girl's arrest, saying that person had decamped with the MLA's mobile phone and cash. The girl's arrest in Turra village on December 14 was witnessed by about “500 persons,” she said.
