BJP MLA gets 25-year jail for raping minor

Sonbhadra (UP), December 15

A court here on Friday sentenced BJP MLA Ramdular Gond to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for the rape of a girl nine years ago, setting the stage for his disqualification from the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

According to the Representation of the People Act, a lawmaker sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more shall be disqualified “from the date of such conviction” and remain disqualified for another six years after serving time.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Gond, to be used in the rape survivor’s rehabilitation.

The rape survivor is now married and the mother of an eight-year-old girl. Special Public Prosecutor Satyaprakash Tripathi said the court held the MLA from Duddhi Assembly seat —reserved for Scheduled Tribes — guilty on December 12.