AHMEDABAD:
Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani on Friday said that his government will remain "neutral" in the police probe into rape allegations against former BJP MLA Jayanti Bhanushali.
On July 19, an FIR was lodged in Surat's Sarthana police station against Bhanushali for allegedly raping a 21-year-old woman on the pretext of securing admission for her in a reputed fashion designing college.
In her complaint, the victim had alleged that Bhanushali raped her on several occasions between November 2017 and March 2018.
Speaking to reporters in
Bhuj in Kutch on Friday, Rupani said, "The police is doing its job. My government will remain neutral in whatever investigations that are going on. We will not take into consideration any other factors while probing the case."
Earlier on Thursday, a second summon was issued against Bhanushali by Surat police in connection with the rape case.
He has been charged under sections 376 (2) (public servant committing rape), 506(2) (criminal intimidation), 420 (cheating), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 465 (forgery), among others, of the
Indian Penal Code.
Bhanushali, who was the BJP MLA from Abdasa Assembly seat between 2007 and 2012, had tendered his resignation as state BJP vice-president in the wake of the rape allegations.
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