Police slaps charge of unnatural offence against BSP MP

New Delhi: Delhi Police on Friday slapped a fresh charge of unnatural offence against BSP MP Dhananjay Singh, arrested along with his wife in connection with the murder of their maid, in another case of rape lodged against him.

According to the sources, the police on Friday told a Delhi court that they have added penal provision of section 377 (unnatural offence) of the IPC against Dhananjay, a BSP MP from Jaunpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

Dhananjay was produced before the court after expiry of one day of police custody and was remanded to judicial custody till December 6 after the police said his further custodial interrogation was not required in the case, sources said.

They also said that during the proceedings, the police told the court that penal provisions of section 377 of the IPC has been added against Dhananjay on the basis of the statement given by the complaint before a magistrate.

The FIR was lodged against the MP for allegedly repeatedly raping and criminally intimidating a 42-year-old woman, a railway employee, between 2005-09. The Police had yesterday arrested Dhananjay inside the court room in the fresh case.

The police had said that an FIR of rape was lodged against Dhananjay after the woman recently approached it alleging that she was sexually exploited by the MP between 2005-2009. She was continuously raped by Singh at gunpoint and was threatened with dire consequences if she reported the matter, the police had said.

The rape case was lodged against the MP on November 13 at Pandav Nagar police station in east Delhi.

Dhananjay and his wife Jagriti Singh, a dental surgeon at the R. M. L Hospital, were arrested on November 5 in connection with the death of their 35-year-old maid Rakhi Bhadra, a resident of West Bengal.

Jagriti is presently in judicial custody in connection with the murder case. Rakhi's body, with injury marks on her legs, chest and arms, was recovered from Dhananjay's South Avenue residence on the evening of November 4.

The police had said the MP and Jagriti allegedly used to "mercilessly" beat and torture their three domestic helps-- Rakhi, Meena and a minor. Dhananjay, who also faces charges of murder and offences under the UP Gangsters Act, was arrested for allegedly destroying evidence, not informing police about the maid's death immediately and employing a juvenile as domestic help.

Jagriti has been arrested under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 344 (wrongful confinement) of Indian Penal code and Juvenile Justice Act.