Congress MP Rakesh Rathore Arrested in Rape Case After Bail Petition Rejected

Sitapur, 30th January 2025: Rakesh Rathore, the Congress MP from Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested on Thursday in connection with a rape case. The arrest followed the rejection of his anticipatory bail petition by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court. However, the court granted him two weeks to surrender before the trial court to apply for regular bail.

The case against Rathore was filed on January 17, after a woman accused him of sexually exploiting her over the past four years under the pretence of marriage. The woman has provided the police with call records and audio recordings as evidence.

On January 22, the survivor’s husband filed a separate complaint, naming five individuals, alleging that Rathore and his son had been pressuring the family to settle the matter. He also claimed that the MP’s associates made derogatory comments about his wife on social media. As a result, Sitapur Police registered a case against five individuals under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act and Section 67 of the IT Act for disclosing her identity online.