New Delhi: Union Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Kalraj Mishra on Sunday assured that the absconding Samajwadi Party leader Gayatri Prajapati, who has been booked on charges of rape, would be arrested once the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government comes to power in Uttar Pradesh.
"Gayatri Prajapati should have been arrested till now. He will be arrested once our party will come to power after March 11," Mishra said.
Mishra also alleged that the Akhilesh Yadav-led government was trying to protect Prajapati.
Earlier on Saturday, the Uttar Pradesh Police issued non-bailable warrants against Prajapati and six others in connection with the rape charges.
Prajapati's passport has been revoked for four weeks to prevent him from attempting to flee out of the country.
Earlier this week, the police also initiated proceedings for a look out notice against Prajapati following reports that he may try to escape abroad to evade arrest.
On February 20, Prajapati moved the Supreme Court against its order of registering an FIR against him and sought protection from the arrest and recall of the apex court's earlier order.
The apex court had directed the Uttar Pradesh Police to file a status report in the case within a period of eight weeks.
A 35-year-old woman had accused Prajapati of raping her when she met him three years ago.
He is also accused of taking obscene photos of the victim and threatening her to make the photos public and raping her for the past two years.
However, Prajapati claimed it to be a conspiracy of the BJP in order to distract people's attention from the assembly polls.
"It is a conspiracy against me. I don't even know who the lady is. Since the government has ordered such probe, I would accept it gladly," Prajapati said.
