UP BJP MLA accused of rape by widow

Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh), Feb 11 (IANS) With just two days left for the State Budget Session, a widow from Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district has accused BJP MLA Ravindranath Tripathi and six others of sexual harassment over the years, the police said.The incident is likely to cause considerable embarrassment to the ruling Yogi Adityanath government. Bhadohi Superintendent of Police (SP) Ram Badan Singh said: "The woman, whose husband died in 2007, met the BJP MLA Ravindranath Tripathi's nephew in 2014. She said that she was physically exploited by him for many years on the pretext of marriage."The complainant also said that the nephew then got her lodged in a Bhadohi hotel for about a month during the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, "where she was raped by the MLA and his other family members".The case has been handed over to the Additional Superintendent of Police for further investigations.A case is yet to be registered.The Uttar Pradesh Budget Session starts from Thursday.
--IANS amita/dpb/in