Suspended RJD legislator convicted of raping minor

Patna, Dec 15 (IANS) A Bihar court on Saturday convicted RJD legislator Raj Ballabh Yadav in connection with the rape of a minor in February 2016, officials said.The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on December 21.Biharsarif court judge Parshuram Yadav found Raj Ballabh and five others guilty of raping a minor in Nalanda. The court had reserved its verdict after hearing both sides on December 4.There had been 22 witnesses from the prosecution and 15 from defence. The case was filed against Raj Ballabh Yadav on February 9, 2016. Yadav, who had been suspended from the party, was lodged in jail.According to the police complaint filed by the girl, on February 6, 2016, a woman named Sulekha Devi took her to an undisclosed location in Nalanda and forced her to have liquor, after which she was raped by a man, later identified as Yadav.After she was raped, the girl said, the woman gave her Rs 30,000.She then went home and told her parents about the incident.
--IANS ik/pgh/sed