BODY OF EX-MINISTER’S NEPHEW FOUND ON RLY TRACK IN AMETHI

LUCKNOW: The beheaded body of a 20-year-old nephew of former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati was found on a railway track at Kherauna village in Amethi district on Friday morning, police officials said. The officials said preliminary investigation indicated it was a suicide case, but the probe was still on.

Superintendent of police (SP) (Government Railway Police-Lucknow) Saumitra Yadav said a run-over case was reported under GRP’s Pratapgarh police station limits on Friday morning. He said the victim’s body was found in two pieces— the head lying within the track and the remaining body alongside.

“The spot examination suggested that the youth had himself placed his head on the track to kill himself. No struggle marks were found on the spot,” he added.

The SP said he was not aware whether the youth was the nephew of the former minister or not.

Inspector in-charge of Amethi police station Shyam Sunder, however, confirmed that the deceased was the son of the former minister’s younger brother. He said the young man was reported missing from his house since Thursday evening.

“His body was found on the railway track while the family members were searching for him. The case, however, has been handled by the GRP team as the youth was run over by a train,” he said.

The former minister is in jail since he was arrested in an alleged gang rape case in March 2017. He was the mining minister in the Samajwadi Party (SP) government between 2012 and 2016. Currently, he is facing multiple charges of illegal mining, corruption, money laundering and disproportionate assets.

THE SP SAID HE WAS NOT AWARE WHETHER THE YOUTH WAS THE NEPHEW OF THE FORMER MINISTER OR NOT.