Kannauj rape case: Cash reward declared on arrest of accused former block pramukh's brother

Kannauj (UP): Police in this Uttar Pradesh district are looking for the brother of a former block pramukh, who has been accused of raping a girl, and have announced a reward of Rs 25,000 on information leading to his arrest, officials said on Wednesday.

It is alleged that Neelu, the brother of accused Nawab Singh Yadav, misled the police investigation in the case by pressuring the victim's aunt to change her statement in Yadav's favour in lieu of money, a senior officer said.

Yadav, who is said to have been a close aide of Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Dimple Yadav when she was the member of Parliament from Kannauj, is currently in jail in the case. The girl's aunt, who had taken her to Yadav's private inter-college in the intervening night of August 11 and August 12 on the pretext of getting her a job, has also been arrested.

"Police are searching for Neelu Yadav, the brother of rape accused Nawab Singh Yadav, on the charge of changing the statement of the accused aunt in the rape case. The police team is continuously raiding for the arrest of Neelu Yadav. A reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced on Neelu Yadav, who is absconding," Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar Anand said.

"In the rape case, the victim's aunt told police during her interrogation that Nawab Singh Yadav's brother Neelu Yadav had pressured her to change her statement and also deposited Rs 4 lakh in the bank account of her acquaintance, evidence of which has been collected by police," the officer added.

The incident has snowballed into a political controversy, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacking the SP, highlighting Yadav's association with it. The SP, however, has distanced itself from the accused, saying he was not its member and was involved in "anti-party activities" for some years.