A local court in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh sentenced the Bhartiya Janata Party MLA from Duddhi Assembly segment, Ramdular Gond, to 25 years’ imprisonment for raping a minor girl. The court also directed that he pay a fine of ₹10 lakh, which will be handed over to the victim.
The MLA was convicted on December 12 under Sections 506 (criminal intimidation) and 376 (sexual assault/rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POSCO).
He faces the prospect of losing his Assembly seat since the Supreme Court had ruled in 2013 that an incumbent MP or MLA ceases to be an elected representative once he is sentenced to a minimum of two years in jail.
The case dates back to November 4, 2014, when the victim’s brother lodged a police complaint in Sonbhadra district alleging that Gond had raped the minor girl and threatened her of dire consequences if she reported the crime. The district police filed a chargesheet after a probe. In January 2023, the additional sessions court issued a arrest warrant against the MLA as he failed to appear in the court.
Gond belongs to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community and won the 2022 Assembly election from Duddhi by a huge margin. The Duddhi constituency is one of five Assembly seats under the Robertsganj Lok Sabha constituency and is reserved for candidates of ST community.
