LUCKNOW: In a late-night incident on Tuesday, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati was attacked inside the Lucknow jail hospital, sustaining head injuries.
According to official sources, Prajapati had been undergoing treatment at the jail hospital when he had a heated argument with a fellow prisoner, who attacked him and injured him.
The incident has snowballed into a major political flashpoint, with the SP demanding a judicial inquiry and Prajapati’s family calling it an attempt on his life while also seeking security from the state government.
It may be recalled that Gayatri Prajapati was arrested in February 2017 in connection with a gang rape and molestation case. The FIR against him, who was a minister in Akhilesh Yadav’s cabinet, was registered on the directions of the Supreme Court.
Sources said that during the Tuesday incident, Prajapati had sought water from an undertrial prisoner, Vishwas, who was on cleaning duty at the jail hospital at that time. When the undertrial refused, Prajapati used abusive language, following which the prisoner hit him on the head.
Later, the Uttar Pradesh prison administration issued a statement saying: “Gayatri Prajapati was admitted to the jail hospital at Lucknow District Jail. An altercation with a prisoner on cleaning duty at the hospital led to a scuffle. During this altercation, the prisoner… became enraged and hit him with the sliding part of a cupboard, causing superficial injuries to Gayatri Prajapati. Necessary treatment was immediately administered, and he is now completely fit.”
Prajapati, who sustained head injuries, was administered first aid and received stitches on his scalp. He was later referred to the Trauma Centre of King George’s Medical University (KGMU) for further treatment. Officials said his condition is stable and that he is “completely fit”.
Prajapati, meanwhile, told media persons at the hospital that he did not have any dispute with anyone. “The person who attacked me was a criminal,” he said.
Later, while interacting with media persons, Prajapati’s daughter Ankita alleged that her father’s life was under threat. “My father, despite being innocent, has been languishing in jail for the past 8.5 years. Now, he has been attacked with the intention to kill. We request the Chief Minister to listen to us. Our father is not a terrorist. We also demand justice from the judiciary given the fact that even the woman, who had accused him of rape, has been claiming that nothing wrong was done to her,” she said.
On the other hand, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav also demanded a “judicial inquiry” into the attack on Gayatri Prajapati. “There should be a judicial inquiry into the attack on former MLA and former minister, Gayatri Prajapati, inside the jail. No one, nowhere is safe in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
SP’s Ayodhya MP, Awadhesh Prasad, demanded Prajapati’s release on security grounds, claiming he received five stitches on his head following the attack.