Ajit Prasad, son of Samajwadi Party (SP) Member of Parliament (MP) Awadhesh Prasad, has been booked for allegedly kidnapping, threatening, and assaulting a local man in Faizabad. The incident has sparked controversy just as Ajit Prasad is expected to contest the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly by-polls from the Milkipur constituency, which became vacant after his father was elected to the Lok Sabha from Faizabad.
The allegations came to light after Ravi Tiwari, a local property dealer, filed a formal complaint against Ajit Prasad and his associates, including Raju Yadav and a group of 15-20 unidentified individuals. According to Tiwari, the group confronted him near the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Faizabad on Saturday, September 21. Tiwari claims he was forcibly dragged into their vehicle and taken towards the Raqaabganj area.
During the ordeal, Tiwari alleges that he was physically assaulted by Ajit Prasad and his group. In his complaint, Tiwari also claimed that the assailants forcibly took Rs 1 lakh from him and recorded a video of the assault, using it to further intimidate him. Before releasing him, the group allegedly threatened to kill him.
Tiwari, who was reportedly mediating a land deal between Ajit Prasad and a local landowner named Sheetla Prasad, filed a formal complaint at the Kotwali police station shortly after the incident. The City Kotwali in-charge, Ashwini Pandey, confirmed that initial investigations supported the allegations made by Tiwari.
Following the complaint, a case was registered against Ajit Prasad, Raju Yadav, police constable Shashikant Rai, and 15 unidentified individuals. The charges include kidnapping, assault, and issuing threats.
However, the incident has taken a political turn, with Awadhesh Prasad dismissing the allegations as a politically motivated attempt to tarnish his son’s reputation ahead of the by-polls. He claimed that the accusations were fabricated to distract the public from growing outrage over a separate incident involving alleged police brutality in the Raunahi area. That incident led to the death of a man named Dukhiram, which has already sparked significant public unrest in the region.
