UP woman who accused minister, aides of gangrape withdraws charge

The woman had alleged that four men, all associates of Verma, Minister for Backward Class Welfare, kidnapped and took her to a circuit house in Shahjahanpur on May 5. There, she alleged, the five men turns to rape her. She had sought an FIR be registered against all five accused.

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Her counsel Virendra Singh Chauhan said the woman had appeared before the court on Thursday and said that she did not want to pursue the case.

Accepting her request, the court ordered for the closure of the case. Chauhan also said that the woman did not give any reason for withdrawing the case.

Incidentally, it was this rape case that journalist Jagendra Singh had posted information about on Facebook, which led to the subsequent dispute between him and the minister.

In his dying declaration to the police, Singh had reportedly accused Verma and some police officers of setting him on fire on June 1, following which the police registered a case of murder against the minister.

The woman, who had levelled the allegation of rape against Verma, was reportedly the only person present at the journalist’s house when he was allegedly set on fire.

She had, however, told the police that Jagendra had immolated himself when a team of police officers had come to arrest him in a case of attempt to murder that had been lodged against him.