Absconding for over 40 days after he was booked, BJP worker held for rape
Police on Friday produced Radadiya before a court, which sent him to police custody until Monday morning.
4 min read
Thadhani was arrested in the rape case on August 2, and is in judicial custody. Radadiya, meanwhile, had been on the run. He, however, surrendered before police and was formally arrested at 3 pm on Thursday.On the run for over 40 days after a woman accused him of rape, BJP worker Paresh Radadiya — a trustee of an educational institute at a village in Rajkot where the victim used to study — surrendered before the police and was arrested late Thursday.
Radadiya, whose wife Daksha is a sitting member of Rajkot district panchayat, was arrested two days after a court denied his application seeking protection against arrest in the rape case.
Radadiya and Madhu Tadhani, a former village sarpanch, were booked on July 25 after the woman filed a police complaint alleging that the two men raped her on the campus in June 2023. Radadiya had been absconding since then.
In her complaint, the 21-year-old woman said that Tadhani was friends with Radadiya and the institute’s then managing trustee and therefore used to frequent the campus.
The woman said she was pursuing graduation at the institute while also working as rector of a hostel on the campus.
Last June, Tadhani and Radadiya allegedly started “winking and smiling” at her. As per the FIR, around 15 days later, Tadhani called her, asked not to go to college and instead stay put in her room. The two men then allegedly went to her room, threatened her and took turns to rape her. She alleged in the FIR that Tadhani said that the institute’s then managing trustee was aware of everything.
She further said that a few days later, she had to take a few girls of the hostel to a hospital and Tadhani molested her in a room at the hospital. In May this year, she migrated to Surat for further studies but Tadhani met her twice – latest on July 12 – and molested and threatened her, asking her to marry him and warning that he would not allow her to get engaged to any other man.
Meanwhile, hours before being arrested in the rape case on August 2, Tadhani– a farmer and builder by profession – posted a video on social media. In the purported video, Tadhani said that he was friends with Radadiya but claimed that the rape case was motivated. Tadhani is currently in judicial custody.
Radadiya, meanwhile, had been on the run. He had moved the Rajkot district and sessions court on July 26, seeking anticipatory bail.
In its affidavit opposing the anticipatory bail plea, the Rajkot rural police said: “…The accused/applicant’s wife is a member of Rajkot district panchayat… The applicant himself is politically influential and therefore, if he is granted anticipatory bail, he will attempt to influence witnesses and attempt to avoid being punished.”
Agreeing with the prosecution, the court rejected Radiya’s bail application on Tuesday. Two days later, he surrendered before the police and was formally arrested at 3 pm on Thursday. The police on Friday produced Radadiya before a court, which sent him to police custody till Monday morning.
The BJP, meanwhile, said Radadiya’s case will be reported to the party’s high command in the state. “As he is our worker, we will report the matter to our party high command and seek their guidance for taking action, if any,” Haresh Herbha, general secretary of BJP’s Rajkot district unit, said.
The current managing trustee of the educational institution said they are extending full support to the investigation. “We are doing all within our power to ensure that the victim gets justice. On our campus, 200 CCTV cameras are installed and outsiders are not allowed entry even in the office area. Having said that, the allegations levelled are the subject of police investigation and we are extending full support to the police.”
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