LUCKNOW: National spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party Manoj Yadav was arrested and sent to jail in connection with a case of rape, molestation and assault registered against him at Safdarganj police station in Barabanki district.
Yadav, who was earlier reported missing from Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar area, was produced before Additional District Judge Nitish Rai amid heavy police security at around 10:30 am on Friday. The court remanded him to seven days of judicial custody under charges including rape, assault, molestation and relevant sections of the SC/ST Act.
Yadav hails from Bhagalepurwa village under Safdarganj police station limits of Barabanki and resides with his wife Prabha Yadav in Lucknow.
As per the Safdarganj Station House Officer Amar Chaurasia, an FIR was lodged naming the SP spokesperson on February 11 based on a complaint filed by a Scheduled Caste woman from Bhagalepurwa village.
In her complaint, the woman alleged that in 2004 her husband filed a case against Yadav, also known as Bablu, for trespassing and assault. She claimed that due to that old enmity, Yadav stopped her at Safdarganj crossing about three months ago, used caste-based slurs, held her hand, and threatened her.
The complainant further alleged that her son, Virendra, who works as a driver in Lucknow, was also targeted. She claimed that Yadav intercepted and assaulted her son on multiple occasions in Lucknow and handed threats to kill him.
In her recorded statement, the woman also accused Yadav of inappropriate physical contact, including molestation of her private parts. Based on these allegations, police added rape charges to the case.
In a related development, Yadav’s wife, Prabha Yadav, approached Gomti Nagar Extension police station in Lucknow on Thursday night to file a missing person complaint.
In her application, she stated that her husband left home in the evening with his cousin, Sunita Yadav, daughter of Rajendra Yadav, to attend a function in Hasemau under BBD police station area. They were also scheduled to attend two other events.
According to the complaint, at around 9:40 pm, Yadav made a video call to her, but she could not answer at the time. When she later attempted to call back, one of his two mobile phones was switched off, while the other rang without response.
She further stated that enquiries with relatives revealed that he left a wedding ceremony in Ilhanganj under Kakori police station area at around 9:30 pm in his car. Thereafter, his whereabouts remained unknown prompting her to file the missing report.
Police officials did not yet clarify the sequence of events between the missing complaint and his subsequent arrest. Investigation into the matter was underway, said senior cops of Barabanki.