Uttar Pradesh: Woman accuses BJP MLA Kushagra Sagar of raping her
The woman, in her complaint to the police, claimed that Sagar raped her for nearly two years on the pretext of marriage.
A 20-year-old woman from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh has accused Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Budaun, Kushagra Sagar, of raping her when she was a minor. The Bareilly police have begun an investigation in the case, The Times of India reported on Wednesday.
The woman, in her complaint to Bareilly Senior Superintendent of Police Kalanidhi Naithani, claimed that Sagar raped her for nearly two years on the pretext of marriage.
“We are a very poor family. Since my father is unemployed, my mother works as a maid,” she told the police. “She often took me to help her. In 2012, when I was 16, I used to go Sagar’s house along with my mother. He started talking to me and even promised to marry me. He took advantage of me and raped me several times from 2012 to 2014.”
“I tolerated all this hoping that one day he would marry me but now he is threatening to kill my family and me if I approach the police,” the woman said. Sagar is set to get married on June 17.
Naithani said the police have begun an investigation and will take action based on the report.
Bareilly: Woman accuses BJP MLA from Badaun Kushagra Sagar of raping her. Victim says 'Will commit suicide if I don't get justice, I have been receiving threats as well and have become a subject of ridicule in society' Police have begun investigation. pic.twitter.com/6nelWHaHhs
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 30, 2018
Sagar dismissed the woman’s claims and claimed his political rivals were using her to get to him. “This woman has already approached the police in 2014 and came to a compromise taking Rs 10 lakh from me,” he told The Times of India. “Now, all of a sudden she again levelled false allegations against me before my wedding that is scheduled next month. I am ready to face these charges and even a narco test.”
The allegations against Sagar come a little over a month after another Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party MLA was arrested for rape. MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and some of his aides are accused of raping a teenager in June 2017. He allegedly raped the girl, who was a minor at the time, when she went to his house looking for work. It took 10 months, an immolation attempt by the girl and her family, the death of her father in judicial custody, and public outrage before an FIR was finally registered against the politician.
After the Uttar Pradesh government asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to take over the investigation, the agency arrested Sengar.