Rape accused UP minister Gayatri Prajapati 'trying to flee country', airports alerted

NEW DELHI: Airports across the country have been alerted about the possibility of UP Minister Gayatri Prajapati, accused of rape, trying to flee the country. A Letter of Cancellation (LC) will soon be opened against him and all airports have been alerted to prevent the 49-year-old Prajapati from fleeing the country, official sources said. A letter of cancellation is a technical term used for alerting immigration authorities about any possible move by a suspect to leave the country. Whenever passport of the suspect comes for immigration clearance at any exit point of the country, the computer screen warns the official to not let the person leave. The Sashtra Seema Bal (SSB), guarding Uttar Pradesh's border with Nepal, has also been alerted about the possiblity of such a move by Prajapati. The UP Police has registered an FIR against the ruling Samajwadi Party politician, who continues to elude them, for allegedly gang-raping a woman and molesting her daughter with his aides. The FIR was filed recently following a directive of the Supreme Court after the alleged victim woman approached it. Akhilesh promises cooperation on Prajapati issue Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today promised full cooperation with regard to the case of rape-accused elusive minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati as per the directions of the Supreme Court. "The matter is in the Supreme Court...The government will fully cooperate and go by its order," Yadav said in response to a question at a hurriedly-convened press conference here. When his attention was drawn to the tweet by state BJP president Keshav Prasad Maurya that Prajapati has been hiding in the Chief Minister's house, Akhilesh asked the mediapersons to follow him with their cameras to check for themselves. Prajapati and some of his aides have been accused of gang-raping a woman and molesting his daughter. The victims had knocked at the doors of the Supreme Court, on whose directive an FIR has been registered by the UP Police against the ruling Samajwadi Party politician. However, Prajapati continues to be elusive. Akhilesh has been facing severe attack from the BJP over the Prajapati episode, especially since he is contesting as a Samajwadi Party candidate from Amethi and the Chief Minister had campaigned in that constituency.