Congress MP Rakesh Rathore was today arrested in a rape case filed against him, officials said. Rathore, the Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur, was arrested after he surrendered and was taken to court under heavy police security.
Police registered a case against Rathore, who is also the General Secretary of the Congress’ Uttar Pradesh unit, on January 17 following a complaint from a woman.
She accused him of sexually exploiting her for the past four years and said he promised to marry her and make her political career. She also shared the call details and call recordings with the police.
Earlier Wednesday, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court rejected his anticipatory bail petition and asked him to surrender.
Prior to the high court, the MP-MLA court in Sitapur had also rejected his anticipatory bail plea on January 23.
Last week, the woman’s husband also filed a separate complaint against five individuals, alleging Rathore and his son were pressuring the family to settle the case.
Before joining Congress, Rathore fought Uttar Pradesh assembly elections as the BJP candidate and an Independent. He was also associated with former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party.