'Truth bigger than conspiracy', Akhilesh to BJP after SP leader's acquittal in gangrape case

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday took a swipe at the ruling BJP after an Ayodhya court acquitted SP leader Moeed Khan in a gangrape case, saying BJP leaders and their associates should remember that "truth is bigger than conspiracy". An Ayodhya special POCSO court on Thursday acquitted Khan in a 2024 case involving the alleged gangrape of a 12-year-old girl, while sentencing his domestic help to 20 years' imprisonment. During the investigation, DNA tests of the 66-year-old Khan and his help Raju were conducted, in which the foetal DNA matched Raju's sample, while Khan's report came negative. Referring to the demolition action taken earlier against Khan's properties, Yadav, in a post on X, asked whether the "divisive BJP" had "any bulldozer that could rebuild demolished houses" and restore people's dignity. "Cases against themselves can be withdrawn by those in power, but how will they escape the court of the Almighty for the sins they have committed," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, alleging injustice and bias under the BJP government. Soon after the allegations surfaced, the Ayodhya administration had demolished Khan's bakery and shopping complex, an action then projected as "swift justice".