Gayatri Prajapati still free, 3 more held

The arrests were made in Hazratganj area in central Lucknow, IG (Lucknow) A Satish Ganesh said. With this, all the six persons named in the FIR against the 49-year-old SP leader have been picked up. Gayatri, however, continues to evade the police dragnet. "Both UP Police and Special Task Force of the UP police are on the job and he will be nabbed soon," ADG (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said. Prajapati was booked on a Supreme Court directive for allegedly gang-raping a woman.

She said the UP police plans to attached two properties of the minister in Lucknow and one in Amethi, his assembly constituency, to force him to surrender.

Earlier, Prajapati's two aides were arrested from Noida near Jewar on the Yamuna Expressway on March 7.

The minister's security guard Chandrapal was arrested on March 6 near Lucknow Police lines.

The apex court had asked the UP Police to submit an action taken report regarding the incidents in eight weeks.

A Look Out notice has already been issued against him as also a Non-Bailable Warrant. His passport too has been impounded.

Airports across the country have been alerted about the possibility of Prajapati trying to flee the country.

In the just-concluded Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Prajapati lost to BJP from Amethi, the seat he held.

UP police fail to arrest ex-minister

Uttar Pradesh police has failed to trace out the absconding former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, even after issuance of a non-bailable warrant and a Lookout notice in a gangrape case against him.

The Supreme Court even rejected the plea of the ex-minister on March 6 to stay his arrest, but still the state police was unable to arrest him.

However, the Lucknow police arrested three other accomplices of Prajapati and now except for the ex-minister, all the accused in the gangrape case have been nabbed.

Today, police arrested Vikas Verma, Rupesh and Pintu and with this now, all the six accused have been arrested, except for Gayatri. Earlier, three others were arrested last week.

Acting UP CM Akhilesh Yadav had not sacked Prajapati from the UP ministry till the end of his term and advocated that he was innocent.

UP Governor Ram Naik too questioned the act of the CM that why a minister was not sacked, when a lookout notice has been issued against him, along with a Non-Bailable warrant.

The rape-accused minister, who had unsuccessfully contested the UP polls from Amethi seat on SP ticket, had alleged that he had been wrongly framed in the case.

The FIR against the Minister was registered on February 18, after the Supreme Court ordered the UP police.

The Minister, along with six others accused, was absconding for the past one week and police was not at all aware of the their whereabouts, even as  a local court issued a Non-Bailable Warrant and a look out notice against Prajapati, while also suspending his passport.

The Minister is facing imminent arrest, following an FIR lodged against him and six of his accomplices on the apex court order at Gautampalli police station in the capital on February 18 under various Sections of the IPC and POCSO Act.

On February 17, the Supreme Court had directed the Uttar Pradesh Police to lodge an FIR against Gayatri and others, asking them  to inquire and file an action taken report, regarding the incidents in eight weeks, in a sealed cover.

The apex court's direction had come on a PIL filed by a woman, who had alleged repeated gangrape by Gayatri and others and sought the court's direction for lodging of an FIR.

The petitioner's counsel had argued that UP Police had not taken any action on the complaint, which was given to the Director General of the State Police.

Narrating the incident, the petitioner's counsel had said the alleged incident had first taken place in October 2014 and continued until July 2016 and when the accused tried to molest the minor daughter of the petitioner, she decided to lodge a complaint.