Judge who granted bail to rape-accused ex-minister Gayatri Prajapati suspended

Former UP Minister Gayatri Prajapati had been sent to judicial custody for 14 days. Express Photo/Vishal Srivastav

POCSO court special judge OP Mishra has been suspended for granting bail to former UP Minister Gayatri Prajapati in a rape case, news agency ANI reported. A departmental inquiry has been ordered on the same. The bail had been granted on Tuesday to him and his two accomplices who were arrested for allegedly gangraping a woman and attempting to molest her minor daughter. They had been asked to deposit a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each and also two sureties each of the same amount.

The bail’s reprieve was short-lived, however, as a local court remanded him to judicial custody in two separate cases on Wednesday. He could not walk out of jail.

On Friday, the government decided to move Allahabad High Court to seek cancellation of the bail granted. “The government is currently examining all relevant papers before challenging the bail order given by a POCSO court in the case,” Advocate General Raghavendra Singh said.