Mahrajganj (UP), Sep 16 (PTI) Former BJP minority morcha leader Masoom Raza Rahi, accused of rape and murder, has been arrested from Sonauli in Uttar Pradesh near the Indo-Nepal border, police said on Saturday.

Additional Superintendent of Police Atish Kumar Singh said that Rahi had fled to Nepal and was arrested while trying to return to India.

Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections 2023: Kamal Nath Will Be CM Face if Congress Voted to Power in MP, Says Party Leader Randeep Surjewala.

A case was lodged against him on September 5 for the alleged rape of a 17-year-old Dalit girl and killing of her father. The accused was detained following the FIR.

However, he was allowed to go after the victim retracted the rape allegations in her statement before a magistrate on September 6.

Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections 2023: Upcoming Polls a Battle Between 'Dharma' and 'Adharma', Not Votes, Says Smriti Irani.

Rahi went on the run on September 7 even though the case against him, which also included murder charges, was still under investigation, police officials said.

Five policemen, including a sub-inspector, were suspended and 14 others were sent to the police line by the superintendent of police for negligence in the case.

Several police teams were pressed into action to nab him.

Rahi, who was the Maharajganj district president of the BJP's minority cell, was expelled from the party for six years earlier this week.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)