A former Samajwadi Party leader has been arrested for allegedly trying to rape a minor girl in Kannauj on Sunday night, triggering a war of words between the SP and the BJP.

Nawab Singh Yadav, a former block pramukh, had allegedly called the 16-year-old girl to his house on the pretext of giving her a job and tried to force himself on her.

Amit Kumar Anand, superintendent of police of Kannauj, said: “The victim somehow secretly called the police around 1am and informed them that the accused was trying to assault her. The cops reached the spot and rescued her.”

Prashant Kumar, director-general of police of Uttar Pradesh, said the accused was arrested from the spot while trying to assault the girl.

“On the basis of the complaint, he has been booked under relevant provisions
of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Pocso Act.”

The police have video recorded the raid on Yadav’s house and allegedly leaked a portion of that clip to the media. Sources in the media said the police informed them about the arrest on Monday morning when Yadav was being taken to court.

The Kannauj district and sessions court has sent Yadav to 14 days’ judicial custody.

Udai Veer Singh, a spokesperson for the SP, said: “He left the party two years ago and had nothing to do with us. The government must take action against him.”

Manish Shukla, a spokesperson for the BJP, said: “Yadav is in the SP, which protects such kind of people. There are many such leaders in the SP but the BJP government is taking action against them.”