Prajapati arrest likely soon as shadow is nabbed

After a weeklong hunt, tainted SP minister Gayatri Prajapati’s shadow (security person), who is accused in the gang rape case along with the minister, landed in police custody here on Monday.

The minister’s arrest is also likely soon as the UP Special Task Force (STF) has been roped in to help in arrest the remaining six accused in the case.

IG, Lucknow Zone, A Satish Ganesh said the shadow -- head constable Chanderpal -- was arrested from Alambagh. “Police also recovered his service revolver,” he said.

Sources, however, said Chanderpal was arrested when he turned up to deposit his service revolver at Reserve Police Lines and was later taken to Alambagh for legal proceedings.

The IG said CO of Alambagh Amita Singh, who is investigation officer (IO) of the case, was quizzing Chanderpal about the whereabouts of the minister and other accused. He said Chanderpal would be produced in court on Tuesday.

He said the minister would be arrested soon and added that the IO had been asked to prepare an action taken report to submit in the supreme court.

On Saturday, a city court had issued the non-bailable warrant against the minister and his aides in the case. The gang-rape case was lodged with Gautampalli police on February 18, in compliance with a supreme court order to conduct an inquiry into the complainant’s allegations and submit an action taken report to the court within eight weeks.

The victim, who hails from Chitrakoot, had accused Prajapati and six of his aides of gangraping her and attempting to rape her minor daughter. Six others named in the FIR are Vikas Verma, Ashok Tewari, Amrendra Singh alias Pintu Singh, Chanderpal, Rupeshwar alias Rupesh and Ashish Shukla.

Sources, meanwhile, said Prajapati was present at a tilak ceremony celebration in the city when the police claimed to have carried out extensive raids to arrest him in connection with the case.

They said the minister was present at the tilak of co-accused Vikas Verma’s young brother in Krishna Nagar on March 3.

Vikas is son of PCS officer TP Verma, who is posted as additional city magistrate (ACM) V in Lucknow. A source said the minister’s location at some more places in the city was reportedly found but the police ignored it.

The IG admitted that the police had come to know about the minister’s presence at Krishna Nagar function but “it is still to be verified.” He said the Verma family will be quizzed in the matter to know the truth.