Another Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA has been booked for rape after a woman accused him of repeatedly raping her for a month in 2017.

Bhadohi BJP MLA Ravindra Nath Tripathi and six others have been booked by UP Police for allegedly raping the 40-year-old woman.

The Superintendent of Police (SP) Ram Badan Singh said the woman has alleged that in 2017, Tripathi and his six accomplices kept her at a hotel for a month and repeatedly raped her. 

The woman also claimed that she got pregnant and was forced to undergo an abortion.

The complaint was lodged on February 10, police said.

According to NDTV, she had first filed a complaint against the MLA's nephew for allegedly raping her after promising to marry her. The name of Tripathi was added by her to the police complaint later.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Ravindra Verma conducted the probe and FIR was registered against the seven men after he submitted his report.

"The complainant had said that the MLA's nephew Sandeep Tiwari had established sexual relations after the promise of marriage. She later levelled similar charges against the MLA and other people of the family. We had received a complaint, and on the basis of the complaint, we have registered a case against all those who have been named. A team has been constituted to investigate the case,"  Ram Badan Singh was quoted as saying by the TV channel. 

The district police chief said the woman's statement will be recorded before a magistrate and further action will be taken in the matter as per law.

The woman has alleged that she met the MLA's nephew on a train who exploited her for six on the promise of marriage. In 2017, the woman has claimed, she was confined to a hotel for 30 days during which the MLA and other men- Chandrabhushan Tripathi, Deepak Tiwari, Nitish Tiwari and Prakash Tiwari- allegedly raped her.

Ravindra Nath Tripathi has denied the charges, claiming that the accusations are part of a political conspiracy to defame him.

"I and my family are ready to be hanged if any of the allegations prove to be true after probe," he said.

Earlier, another BJP MLA - Kuldeep Singh Sengar - was convicted by a trial court in December 2019 for abducting and raping a minor. The Unnao MLA, now expelled from the party, has challenged his conviction and life sentence in Delhi High Court.