Bhushan Bara

News India Xtra@newsIndiaxtra

The BJP has accused the Congress of silence over a rape allegation against Jharkhand MLA Bhushan Bara. At a Delhi press conference, MP Bansuri Swaraj said top leaders including Rahul Gandhi had not commented.

Police registered a POCSO case on Friday after a 14-year-old domestic worker at his official residence alleged he raped her on August 5, and she later became pregnant. Swaraj also called the party's anti-patriarchy slogans empty.

Bara, a two-term MLA, calls the accusations false and says people the party had kicked out are behind them.

News India Xtra@newsIndiaxtra

An FIR has been filed against Congress MLA Bhushan Bara in Jharkhand under the POCSO and Juvenile Justice Acts over a rape allegation, Hatia DSP Niraj Kumar said on Friday.

Bara, who represents the 70-Simdega seat, has dismissed the charges as a fabricated conspiracy by his political opponents. BJP leaders and workers protested in Ranchi the same day and demanded his arrest without delay.

Seema Sharma, president of the Jharkhand BJP Mahila Morcha, wants him removed from office, and Ranchi City BJP chief Varun Kumar Sahu has warned of continued protests if he is not arrested.