Purshottam Naresh Dwiwedi, the BSP MLA from Banda accused of raping a minor girl and then implicating her in a false theft case when she threatened to go to the police, was arrested Thursday from Lucknow and taken to Banda. Two of his aides, also co-accused, were arrested in Banda Wednesday night. The girl is still languishing in jail on theft charges.
“Rajendra Shukla and Surendra Neta, co-accused in the rape case, were arrested in Banda Wednesday night after an FIR was filed. The legislator was arrested Thursday while one of his aides, Ravan Garg, remains untraceable,” a senior police official said.
The official said teams had been formed to trace the aide, and the police hoped “to arrest him soon”.
It took the Mayawati government almost 20 days to initiate action against the MLA, who had denied his role and even claimed he was incapable of any sexual crime as he was impotent. A CID inquiry, however, held the MLA prima facie guilty of forcibly detaining the girl and raping her. The case against the MLA was registered Wednesday after the CM gave the green signal.