Former BJP member Kuldeep Sengar convicted of rape

A former lawmaker from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has been convicted of rape.

Kuldeep Sengar, 51, was tried under child protection laws as the survivor was 17 when she was assaulted two years ago.

The incident occurred in June 2017 when the woman allegedly approached Sengar for a job, before she was kidnapped and raped for more than a week by him and others.

On 13 April, the high court in Uttar Pradesh ordered the arrest of Sengar, after the woman attempted to set herself on fire outside the home of the state’s chief minister just five days earlier, alleging that she had been repeatedly thwarted in her pursuit of justice.

Following the arrest, the woman was seriously injured in a suspicious car crash in July.

The aftermath of the crash saw both her aunts, who had been travelling with her, die as well as her lawyer sustaining serious injuries.

Sengar is expected to be sentenced on Tuesday and could be imprisoned for life.