Court acquits ex-UP minister Prajapati in model code of conduct violation case due to lack of evidence

Sultanpur: An MP-MLA court here on Friday acquitted former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati in a case related to the violation of the election model code of conduct due to lack of evidence.

During the hearing, Prajapati’s wife and Amethi MLA Maharaji Devi and many of her supporters were present.

Prajapati was brought from Lucknow jail and produced before the court amid tight security.

The case related to the Amethi Kotwali area where during the 2012 assembly elections, police sub-inspector Amarendra Nath Bajpai had filed a case against Prajapati, then a Samajwadi Party candidate, on January 28 accusing him of violating the rules by taking out a procession during nomination with his supporters.

The trial of the case was going on in the court of Special Magistrate MP-MLA Yogesh Yadav, where the defence counsel argued that the former minister was implicated only due to political enmity.

Prajapati’s counsel Santosh Kumar Pandey said after hearing both sides, the court acquitted the former minister due to lack of evidence.

Prajapati is serving a life sentence in a separate case in Lucknow jail.