Former BJP lawmaker Jayanti Bhanushali has approached the Gujarat High Court
Former BJP lawmaker Jayanti Bhanushali has approached the Gujarat High Court seeking quashing of a complaint lodged against him after a 21-year-old woman accused him of rape.
The petition was listed in the court of Justice PP Bhatt but did not come up for hearing on Monday.
Jayanti Bhanushali's lawyer PB Khandheria said that the petition would come up for hearing today.
In his petition, Jayanti Bhanushali has alleged that the rape case against him has been concocted by a gang led by Manisha Goswami.
In the petition, the former BJP lawmaker said Manisha Goswami had first targeted his relative Sunil Bhanushali and tried to extort Rs 10 crore from him.
But his relative approached the police and Manisha Goswami was arrested and jailed, the petition said.
Jayanti Bhanushali's petition further claimed that, to extract revenge, Manisha Goswami had asked another member of her gang to target him.
A 21-year-old woman had filed a complaint with Sarthana police station in Surat saying Jayanti Bhanushali had raped her on several occasions between November last year and March this year after promising to get her admitted to a reputed fashion design institute.
Jayanti Bhanushali, BJP lawmaker from Abdasa constituency between 2007 and 2012, has been untraceable since the case was filed and Surat police have issued two summons asking him to appear before Sarthana police.