BJP MLA Ramdular Gond disqualified from UP assembly after conviction in rape case

BJP MLA Ramdular Gond disqualified from UP assembly after conviction in rape case

BJP MLA Ramdular Gond has been disqualified as a member of the Uttar Pradesh assembly following his conviction in a rape case, PTI reported, citing sources. Gond represented the ST-reserved Duddhi seat.

Additional district and sessions judge of the MP-MLA court in Sonbhadra on December 12 sentenced Gond to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a girl nine years ago. The judge, Ahsan Ullah Khan, had also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on him, which would be given to the rape survivor who is now married and the mother of an eight-year-old girl.

Special Public Prosecutor Satyaprakash Tripathi said the court held him guilty on December 12 and announced the quantum of punishment three days later.

The rape incident took place in 2014. Based on a complaint by the rape survivor’s brother, he was booked under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) as well as under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Gond was not an MLA at that time while his wife was a gram pradhan, Tripathi said.

The trial in the case started in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, however, later it was transferred to the MP-MLA court when Gond was elected as an MLA.

In recent times, UP has witnessed several disqualifications following their convictions in separate cases.

In October 2022, Samajwadi Party MLA (Rampur Sadar seat) Azam Khan and the BJP’s Vikram Singh Saini (Khatauli MLA) were disqualified in a hate speech and 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots cases respectively. BJP MLA from Unnao Kuldeep Singh Sengar was disqualified in 2020 following conviction in rape case, and Azam Khan’s son and Samajwadi Party MLA Abdullah Azam Khan was also disqualified in February 2023.