Police did not find UP minister Gayatri Prajapati, who has been accused of rape

Gayatri Prajapati, the controversial Uttar Pradesh minister accused of rape, was missing when the police searched his home in Lucknow last night on the orders of the Supreme Court. He has moved the top court for protection from arrest on charges of gang-rape, which will be heard on Monday."A police team had gone to his official residence here. It's part of the investigation. The minister was not found there. We have sent teams to Amethi also," a senior police officer said on Tuesday.Mr Prajapati was last seen campaigning in Amethi, where he is the Samajwadi Party candidate for the ongoing Uttar Pradesh election.Last week, he attended a public meeting addressed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who did not share the stage with the rape-accused minister following criticism by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Mr Prajapati left the stage before Akhilesh Yadav arrived.The 49-year-old politician faces arrest after an FIR or police complaint was registered against him. He is accused of gang-raping a woman and molesting her daughter, but the police filed a case only when the woman went to the Supreme Court. UP police sources say he may not be arrested before the poll results on March 11.Mr Prajapati has rubbished the charges and denied even knowing the woman.The woman has alleged that she wrote to the state police chief in October when there were attempts to rape her daughter, but there was no response, and that is when she moved court.Akhilesh Yadav sacked Mr Prajapati last year over corruption charges in the middle of his raging feud with his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle Shivpal Yadav, but was later forced to bring him back.He was taunted by PM Modi for starting his UP campaign with the accused minister by his side at a rally in Sultanpur.

"Akhilesh ji you started your election campaign by campaigning for Gayatri Prajapati...the people of UP want to know if your SP-Congress alliance is as pure as Gayatri Prajapati," PM Modi said, commenting that the country's highest court had to step in for a case to be filed against him.Mr Prajapati is a backward caste leader with a significant following in his part of UP.