Court acquits former Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar in rape case

NEW DELHI: The Rouse Avenue court on Wednesday acquitted Sandeep Kumar, a former Delhi minister, in a 2016 rape and prevention of corruption case. Kumar had previously served as the minister of women and children, social welfare, and the SC-ST department.

The Court had charged Sandeep Kumar with raping a woman after administering a sedative, as well as offenses under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 66 IT Act. Advocate Sanjay Gupta and Rajkamal Arya represented Sandeep Kumar in the case.

Following the surfacing of an "objectionable" video featuring Kumar and the woman, the AAP suspended him, leading to his resignation as women and development and social welfare minister.

In 2019, he was disqualified from the Delhi Assembly for supporting the BSP in the Lok Sabha polls. He briefly joined the Haryana BJP in August but was expelled within hours for allegedly concealing his past.

The FIR, lodged in 2016, alleged that Kumar had called the victim to his residence to discuss matters related to her ration card and subsequently raped her. The incident was allegedly filmed and circulated. Delhi police registered the FIR on September 3, 2016, based on the statement of the prosecutrix, who claimed that approximately 11 months prior, she had visited the accused Sandeep's house to obtain a BPL card and was allegedly raped by him after being given a sedative in a cold drink.

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