Jaipur: A prominent Jat leader on Sunday said he would file a defamation case against BJP MLA Rajendra Singh Rathore for accusing him of having links with the liquor mafia.
Jat leader Rajaram Meel alleged that Rathore, after he was acquitted in the Dara Singh fake encounter case, tried to defame him in public by linking him with the liquor mafia.
Meel also claimed that Rathore had "falsely" accused him and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of having conspired to implicate the legislator in the fake encounter case.
"His allegations are completely baseless. There was no conspiracy to falsely implicate him in the case. He had to go behind bars due to his misdeeds and not under any conspiracy," Meel said at a press conference here.
"I was in the liquor business years ago in a legal manner and paid revenue to the government. I never worked illegally, so how can he call me a liquor mafia? I will file a defamation case against him soon," he said.
After his release from jail on May 31, Rathore had claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case.
He had alleged that Chief Minister Gehlot, in connivance with the liquor mafia, conspired against him to ruin his political career.
Dara Singh`s widow Sushila Devi and his brother Sheesh Ram, who were also present at the press conference, maintained that Dara was killed at the behest of Rathore.
When asked why they did not name Rathore in their complaints at the initial level, Sushila claimed they were threatened into silence.
"Rathore used to threaten us, so we did not name him in the initial complaints but, at the same time, we mentioned that political reasons were there behind the killing of Dara," she said.
"We have faith in the Supreme court and we will get justice there only," she added.
PTI
