New Delhi: Facing public outrage, the BJP on Thursday expelled its jailed Uttar Pradesh lawmaker Kuldeep Singh Sengar, accused of raping a minor woman from Unnao in 2017 and threatening her family.
BJP Uttar Pradesh chief Swatantra Dev Singh confirmed the development. “The central leadership has expelled MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar from the party,” he said. The party had recently announced the expulsion of its Uttarakhand MLA Pranav Singh Champion on disciplinary grounds after a video of him dancing with firearms in hand surfaced.
The action against the four-time MLA comes days after the woman and her lawyer were critically injured and two of her aunts killed when their car collided with a speeding truck in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. The family alleges the accident on Sunday was an attempt to eliminate her and the family.
Sengar, who represents Bangermau in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, was arrested on April 13 last year in connection with the rape case.
There has been growing public anger following the incident, with several political parties coming down hard on the Yogi Adityanath-led government in UP.
The Supreme Court on Thursday set a 45-day deadline for trial in the five cases related to the Unnao rape survivor and directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to complete the probe in the woman’s accident case within a week. It also directed the UP government to provide Rs 25 lakh to the rape survivor as interim compensation. The bench directed that the trial in the main case relating to the rape will have to be completed within 45 days from its commencement.
The CBI has booked 10 people so far for murder, including Sengar.
