Fresh protests erupted yesterday in India amid growing public fury over a car crash that critically injured a teenager who accused a lawmaker from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of rape and harassment.
Two of the 19-year-old’s aunts were killed and her lawyer was badly injured when a truck collided with their car in Uttar Pradesh state on Sunday, raising suspicions of foul play.
Police on Monday said they had arrested the truck driver and were investigating claims that it might have been a hit to silence the young woman.
Photo: AFP
“We are analyzing all the aspects, we are looking into call details and have recorded statements of eye witnesses,” Uttar Pradesh Police Chief O.P. Singh told reporters in Lucknow, the state capital.
India’s National Commission of Women, a top rights body, urged police to conduct an “absolutely free, fair and speedy” probe and said its team would soon meet the teenager’s family.
The incident would be probed by federal investigators amid speculation that local police could favor her alleged rapist, BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Singh Sengar.
Sengar, a four-term lawmaker, has been in jail since last year, but reports say he still enjoys considerable clout.
The young woman and the lawyer yesterday were battling for their lives in hospital in Lucknow.
The teenager had accused Sengar of raping her at his home in Unnao district in 2017, but police in the notoriously lawless state initially refused to take action.
Her father was detained by police and severely beaten in custody — allegedly by Sengar’s brother — and later died from his injuries.
The woman also tried to set herself on fire outside the home of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a hardline BJP stalwart.
Members of opposition parties yesterday chanted slogans as they protested outside the national parliament in New Delhi.
“The BJP government should answer how a lawmaker who is in jail is able to plan a murderous attack like this?” Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra said.
The teen’s family members also staged a protest outside the Lucknow hospital, accusing Sengar of ordering the highway crash.
The demonstrations followed a rally late on Monday, with supporters holding up banners with the words “you are not alone” in Hindi.
The woman’s family said the crash was a deliberate attempt to kill her so the rape case does not go to trial.
“There could be a possibility of murder behind this incident,” Akhilesh Yadav, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and head of the regional Samajwadi Party, said on Monday.
Singh said the crash “appears to be purely a road accident.” He said the truck was speeding, but declined to comment further while an investigation was ongoing.
However, media reports said suspicions had been raised because the truck’s registration number was painted over.
“We demand justice for the survivor and her family, which has been put through unspeakable horrors,” activist Shehla Rashid said on Twitter.
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