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VARANASI: Police on Saturday arrested the nephew of Bhadohi BJP MLA Ravindra Nath Tripathi on charges of rape and said no evidence was found against the legislator and his five sons in the case.

On February 10, a 35-year-old woman had lodged a complaint accusing the MLA’s nephew of raping her for the past four years. She had also alleged that the MLA and his sons also raped her during 2017 state elections.

Police arrested the MLA’s nephew, Sandeep Tripathi, on Saturday morning while claiming that no evidence was found against other accused. However, the MLA’s son Nitesh Tripathi was taken into custody on charges of threatening and manhandling but was later released on personal bond.

Producing Sandeep before reporters following his arrest, Bhadohi SP RB Singh said: “Evidence in support of woman’s allegations were found against Sandeep only. The MLA’s son, Nitesh, was found to be involved in threatening and manhandling. He was taken into custody but as charges against him were bailable, he was released on personal bond.”

On the woman’s claims of gang rape by the accused in a hotel in Bhadohi during 2017 assembly elections, the SP said: “The complainant had mentioned that she was kept in a hotel and gang-raped in May while assembly polls had taken place in February and March only. She also refused to go for medical examination.”

“When the hotel records were checked, it was found that she had stayed there with Sandeep on 10 different days in March 2017,” the SP said.

After the woman lodged complaint, an ASP was assigned the probe into the matter. After submission of his report with preliminary evidences, an FIR was lodged on February 19 against Tripathi, his five sons — Sachin, Chandrabhushan , Deepak, Prakash and Nitesh — and a nephew Sandeep under sections 376D, 313, 504 and 506 of IPC.

The woman, who is a widow from Varanasi, had said that Sandeep met her in a train in 2014. She alleged that Sandeep promised to marry her and repeatedly raped her in hotels of Bhadohi, Varanasi and Mumbai. She also accused the MLA and his five sons of raping her in a hotel room in Bhadohi during 2017 assembly election.

