India’s ruling party expels lawmaker accused of rape

Women activists shout slogans during a protest demanding a fast-track probe into a highway accident that critically injured a woman who has accused a ruling BJP lawmaker of rape that led to his arrest last year, outside Uttar Pradesh House in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 30, 2019. (AP)

This picture taken on July 28, 2019, shows the wreckage of a car of Indian teenager who levelled rape allegations against BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Sengar, following a collision with a truck, near Raebareli in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. (AFP)

Social activists hold placards as they take part in a protest outside Uttar Pradesh Bhavan calling for action in a rape case in Uttar Pradesh, in New Delhi on July 30, 2019. (AFP)

Women hold candles during a vigil demanding justice for a woman who is fighting a rape case against a legislator of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in Kolkata, India, July 31, 2019. (Reuters)

• The woman’s family accuses Sengar of plotting the Sunday crash that involved a speeding truck that had its number plate painted black
• The woman and her lawyer were critically wounded and two of her relatives were killed

NEW DELHI: A prominent politician in India was expelled from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday amid waves of public outrage after a deadly car crash left a woman who accused him of rape in critical condition.
The expulsion came after the BJP was criticized for not taking stern action against Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the accused lawmaker from the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Sengar is in jail awaiting trial and could not be reached for comment, but has previously denied the rape allegation.
The woman’s family accuses Sengar of plotting the Sunday crash that involved a speeding truck that had its number plate painted black. The woman and her lawyer were critically wounded and two of her relatives were killed. Police arrested the truck’s driver and owner.
The state police first described it as an accident, but on Wednesday the federal Central Bureau of Investigation said it had opened a case to look into murder and conspiracy allegations against the accused politician.
The family has claimed that they had been threatened by the accused politician’s associates multiple times.
King George’s Medical University doctors said Thursday that the woman remained unconscious and in critical condition with a head injury and multiple leg fractures.
India’s Supreme Court ordered the woman and her lawyer shifted from Uttar Pradesh to India’s capital for further treatment if the family members agreed. The court also directed the investigating agency to complete the probe into the crash within a week.