The Gauhati High Court on Monday dismissed charges of rape and sexual harassment against Union Minister of State for Railway Rajen Gohain, a four-time MP from the Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency.
The BJP had proposed the name of MLA Rupak Sarmah for the seat after Mr. Gohain declined to contest the poll because of the case filed against him.
Hearing the case, Justice Suman Shyam said there was no evidence to support the charges against Mr. Gohain while the alleged victim and her husband “have sworn affidavits denying the occurrence of the incident” on the basis of which an FIR was lodged on August 1 last year.
After the verdict, Mr. Gohain said he was made a victim of a political conspiracy within the party. “A few party insiders tried to tarnish my image,” he said.
