Samajwadi Party MLA Arun Verma from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, who was accused of gang-raping a woman four years ago, along with eight other people, has now been charged of murder after the lady who accused the MLA of rape has been found dead under mysterious circumstances.
The police have now filed a case against Verma, who is contesting from Sultanpur, which is set to vote on February 27. A case has been filed against the MLA by the victim’s father.
The deceased was gang-raped in October 2013 and had named eight persons, including Arun Verma. However in February 2014, Verma’s name was removed from the case.
In May 2016, the Allahabad High Court had sought a probe into the crime and ordered compensation of Rs. 7 lakh to the victim. The next hearing in the case was scheduled for February 21.
The father of the deceased blamed Verma for the death, after which he was booked for murder. Verma, however, denied his role in the woman’s death, and called for a CBI probe into the matter. He alleged it could be political conspiracy against him in the election season.
During investigations, it was found that at the time of the incident Verma’s phone was in Lucknow. His name was not included in the police charge-sheet and later he was absolved of any involvement. The father of the woman said they were given police protection on a High Court order but it was later withdrawn. The case is still in court.
The dead body of the girl was found on Sunday night behind Panchayat Bhawan in Sultanpur. The case has been lodged against Verma under section 302 of IPC.
According to police officials, the injury mark around her neck suggested that she was strangled to death. The body has been sent for postmortem to ascertain the cause of death. Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered regarding the same.
The noose has been tightened around Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav with polls around the corner. The CM is continuously being questioned about increasing crime in the state.
