Rape accused former councillor held from Jaipur

Vadodara: Former councillor Bhavesh Patel, accused of raping a 25-year-old woman in Padra, was arrested by the local crime branch (LCB) rural from Jaipur in Rajasthan on Sunday.
“He has been sent for Covid test and will be arrested if the results are negative. Patel will be produced before the court and we will seek his remand,” the police said.
The cops are now trying to ascertain if anyone helped Patel in fleeing to Rajasthan and if some other person is involved with him in the crime.
The police said that Patel is a bootlegger and has been booked few times under the Prohibition Act in the past.
The woman had approached the police on April 29 accusing Patel of rape. The girl, who stays in Padra, told the police that Patel had raped her on April 26.
She alleged in her complaint that she was invited to a party at a farmhouse in Sokhda by her friend Shivam Gandhi on April 26. When she reached the farmhouse some of the persons present in the party were having liquor. At about 11.15 pm, they saw police patrolling van near the farmhouse following which farm owner Bhumit Patel, Shivam Gandhi and Neel Patel fled from the spot.
The complainant called up Gandhi who told her that he is sending his friend Prithvi Patel to pick her up from the farm. Prithvi arrived sometime later with the accused Bhavesh Patel. Patel told the girl that he will drop her at her home in Padra.
She joined him in the SUV but instead of heading towards Padra, Patel took another road and stopped the vehicle at an isolated spot near a canal in Sokhda. The complainant told the cops that Patel first molested her and then raped her in the car.