India launches murder inquiry after teenager accusing BJP minister of rape is hurt in fatal lorry crash

India launches murder inquiry after teenager accusing BJP minister of rape is hurt in fatal lorry crash

India police have launched a murder investigation after a teenager accusing a powerful politician of rape was critically hurt alongside her lawyer in a fatal car crash.

The weekend crash when a truck collided with the 19-year-old's car sparked protests across India amid accusations of lawlessness and corruption in India's most populous state.

The 19-year-old's family and supporters allege the smash which also killed two of her aunts was not an accident, but a conspiracy to stop the case against the politician.

The young woman who cannot be named for legal reasons accuses ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician Kuldeep Singh Sengar of raping her at his home in Unnao district in 2017.

Police in Uttar Pradesh at first refused to take action and when a case was finally registered, the young woman's father was arrested and badly beaten in police custody. He later died of his injuries. The woman tried to set herself on fire in protest outside the home of state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a BJP stalwart.

Mr Sengar denies rape and is currently in prison awaiting trial. His lawyer, Awadhesh Singh, said the case was a conspiracy to harm his political career and the crash was not suspicious.

However following a complaint by the woman's family, police formally opened an investigation into Mr Sengar, his brother and more than two dozen others, alleging murder, attempted murder conspiracy and intimidation, the BBC reported. Federal investigators will take over the case because of fears the local police cannot be trusted.

One of the aunts killed in the crash was also a witness in the case. The woman's family said it feared for its safety. "This is not an accident," the mother told reporters at the Lucknow hospital where her daughter remained critically ill. "One by one, all the witnesses are being eliminated. We're afraid for our lives," said the mother.

Police have arrested the driver and owner of the truck. The case threatens to embarrass India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, and his BJP party.

A party spokesman in the state, Rakesh Tripathi, said a disciplinary panel suspended Mr Sengar last year and asked for his explanation. "He has not been sacked yet because the charges haven't been proven," Mr Tripathi added.

On Tuesday, protesters tried to march towards the state government's office in the capital New Delhi as they criticised Mr Adityanath for failing to protect the teen.

"For months the police doesn't register a case against the politician. Once that is done, her father is killed in police custody and now, a clear attempt to kill her,” social activist and one of the protest's organisers Shabnam Hashmi told AFP.

The demonstrations followed a rally late Monday, with supporters holding up banners with the words "you are not alone" in Hindi. The protests were reminiscent of those that followed the fatal gang rape of a Delhi student on a bus in 2012 that made headlines around the world.

That attack unleashed public anger over rampant sexual violence against women in India, and saw the introduction of tough new laws to punish rapists. But there has been no let-up in the number of assaults, with 40,000 rape cases reported every year.