Dehradun (Uttarakhand): BJP’s Jwalapur MLA Suresh Rathore has been accused of rape by a former party colleague, according to police here. A case of rape was lodged Thursday night against Suresh Rathore at the Bahadarabad police station of Haridwar after a lower court’s order. Rathore is the second BJP MLA from Uttarakhand after Mahesh Negi against whom such serious charges have been levelled. He has been accused of rape and criminal intimidation by the complainant, police said.
The woman in her complaint said she met Rathore two-and-a-half years ago. He then had asked her to join the BJP’s Mahila Morcha, police said. The woman said she had earlier been the Mandal Mantri of Jwalapur. She also accused the MLA of having her arrested in the past using his political clout.
When contacted, the state BJP’s media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said the complainant had already been expelled around two months ago from the party by its Haridwar district unit after she was caught conspiring against the MLA.
Last year, MLA Negi was accused of rape by a woman. She had also alleged that he was the father of her daughter. The matter is under investigation at present.
Uttarakhand Congress vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana said it is not for the first time that a BJP leader in the state has been accused of such an offence.
“Before Rathore, Mahesh Negi and state BJP’s organisational general secretary Sanjay Kumar have also been slapped with rape charges. The BJP took no action against them,” Dhasmana said. “I think the BJP should now replace its slogan of ‘beti bachao, beti padhao’ with ‘BJP ke netaon aur vidhyakon se beti bachao’, he added.