On Thursday (30th January), Congress MP from Sitapur Rakesh Rathore has been arrested in a rape case. He was taken into custody while a press conference was still in session. Following his arrest, he was taken to the court.
The arrest followed a woman’s complaints that Rathore raped her several times for four years. According to the complainant, he promised to help advance her political career and marry her and to substantiate her charge, she also submitted call recordings.
Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh: Congress MP Rakesh Rathore was taken into police custody during a press conference at his residence in connection with a Rape case pic.twitter.com/KlsQtjVhYi
— IANS (@ians_india) January 30, 2025
Rathore’s arrest came a day after the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea and instructed him to surrender. Prior to this, Sitapur’s MP-MLA court had also denied his bail request on January 23.
Speaking to ANI before his arrest, Rathore claimed innocence saying, “The High Court granted me two weeks to appear before the lower court and follow legal procedures. I am surrendering before the police in this connection. I am confident that I will get justice in the court of people and the court of law. Since the matter is subjudice, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
The woman’s husband also filed a separate complaint, stating that Rathore and his son pressured their family to settle the case.
Congress MP Rathore, has been a turncoat politician. He previously participated in elections as an Independent and BJP candidate before finally joining the Congress. He has a long-standing association with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), allied with the erstwhile Chief Minister of UP, Mayawati.
The case has sparked an intense debate within political and legal circles, the case being currently under judicial notice awaiting further proceedings.
