Another BSP MLA lands in controversy

For allegedly shielding a school principal accused of rape

Another Bahujan Samaj Party MLA in Uttar Pradesh is facing the heat — for allegedly shielding a school principal who is accused of raping a woman in the presence of her husband in Etawah district.

Like in the Banda case, here too the alleged rape victim is languishing in the Etawah jail along with four others on the charge of provoking her husband to commit suicide.

The alleged rape victim submitted a petition in the court on January 18.

However, before the case, listed in the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Etawah, could come up for hearing on January 29, Bhartana MLA Shiv Prasad Yadav and the principal were given a clean chit by the State government on Sunday.

According to the police, the principal was not in town on December 16 last, the day the alleged rape was committed. The MLA has also denied the charge.

The deceased and the principal were said to be close friends. The former was a computer teacher in the school owned by the BSP MLA.

According to Special DG (Law and Order) Brij Lal, the woman said the principal used to frequent her in-law's house and make passes at her. On December 16, she said, her husband and the principal consumed liquor and the latter subsequently raped her with the consent of her husband.

Why and how the husband consumed “sulfas” leading to his death on December 21 was not explained by the officer.

The woman has accused the BSP MLA of shielding the principal and pressuring the police to lodge a case against her and her relatives on December 21.

Mr. Lal told reporters that going by the principal's phone call details and information gathered from the mobile phone tower, his location on December 16, 17 and 18 was found to be about 17 km away from the place the alleged rape took place.

On January 18, a petition was filed in the court by the woman's father, which said his daughter had complained that the principal held her hand. “The versions of the father and daughter are contradictory,” Mr. Lal said.

A probe by ASP, Etawah, has been ordered into the case.