A Samajwadi Party leader was arrested in Kannauj on Monday for allegedly attempting to rape a 15-year-old girl. The leader, identified as Nawab Singh Yadav, was a former ‘block pramukh’ of the party. According to police reports, the incident occurred around 1:30 am when the girl and her aunt were at Yadav’s residence, where they had gone seeking a job. The girl alleged that Yadav tried to assault her while her aunt was in the bathroom. Upon her return, the aunt saw Yadav in his underwear and immediately called the police helpline, UP 112. The police responded promptly, rescuing the girl and taking Yadav into custody. The incident has triggered a political row between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP has accused the SP of shielding criminals, highlighting that Yadav was once a close associate of senior party leader Dimple Yadav. The BJP spokesperson, Rakesh Tripathi, stated that Yadav was a representative of Dimple Yadav during her time as the Lok Sabha MP from Kannauj. Tripathi further alluded to controversial remarks made by SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav in 2014, stating that the SP has a history of protecting perpetrators of such crimes. Meanwhile, the SP has distanced itself from Yadav, claiming that he has been inactive in the party for the past five years and is not a member. Samajwadi Party leader Juhie Singh questioned the motives behind the incident, suggesting that a 15-year-old girl would not be seeking a job and questioning the timing of the alleged assault. However, the SP’s Kannauj unit president, Kaleem Khan, confirmed that Yadav is not currently a member of the party and that the incident is an individual matter. This incident comes just weeks after another case in Ayodhya, where Moid Khan, a bakery owner, and his employee, Raju Khan, were arrested for the rape of a minor girl. The arrest of Yadav has further intensified the political debate in Uttar Pradesh, with both parties using the incident to attack each other. The incident highlights the ongoing issue of sexual violence against minors in India and raises questions about the role of political parties in addressing such crimes.
