Lucknow, June 29
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Sribhagwan Pandey, alias Guddu Pandit, was arrested on Sunday after a Kashiram Nagar resident Sheetal Birla lodged a complaint of rape, illegal confinement and criminal conspiracy against him at the Kasganj police station.

Addressing a press conference, ADG (Law and Order) Brijlal confirmed that the MLA from Dibai in Bulandshahr district had been arrested from Sector 53 police station in Noida and taken to Kasganj in Kashiram Nagar on transit remand.

In her complaint, Sheetal, a research scholar from Agra University, said that she had met the MLA at a wedding three years ago. After a year-and-a-half, they got married in a temple and started living together. When she discovered that the MLA was already married, she decided to part ways.

Recently, the MLA had got her abducted by his men and had physically and mentally abused her as well as threatened her family of dire consequences.

She also mentioned lodging a complaint of fraud against the MLA on the direction of the High Court at police station, Ahmadgarh, in Bulandshahr.

Incidentally, Guddu Pandit is the third BSP MLA, to be arrested during the present Mayawati regime.

Earlier this month, minister Jamuna Nishad was apprehended over a police constable’s killing in the Maharajganj kotwali police station.

Anand Sen, former Uttar Pradesh minister, was the first to have a murder case lodged against him for the disappearance and killing of a Faizabad law girl-student - Shashi - in October last year. He was formally arrested barely a fortnight ago.