The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) expelled three of its workers after they were arrested by the Varanasi Police in connection with the molestation of an IIT-BHU student, the party's district chief, Hansraj Vishwakarma, said on Sunday.
However, he did not reveal the arrested persons' designations and roles in the party.
The action came hours after the Opposition alleged that the accused were linked to the BJP.
Speaking about the party's decision, Vishwakarma said, "Definitely their (accused) names have appeared in the police probe, so they will be expelled from the party after an investigation".
On being asked whether the BJP has distanced itself from the three accused, Vishwakarma added, "It is not about distancing from the accused. They will be expelled from the party".
He then clarified and said, " The three accused have been expelled from the BJP and further action will be taken as per the directions of the party leadership".
Notably, the accused, identified as Kunal Pandey, Anand alias Abhishek Chauhan, and Saksham Patel, were all arrested by Varanasi Police on Sunday. Later, they were produced before a local court which sent them to 14 days of judicial custody.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav was among the opposition leaders who took a swipe at the BJP over the accused persons' association with the party. In a post on X, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister alleged that the three accused were BJP workers and that the party would "give immunity" to them in the case.
"These are the new crop of BJP workers who are flourishing and roaming around openly under the patronage of senior BJP leaders, whose search for ostentation is going on in the 'so-called zero-tolerance government'. For your information, these are the BJP workers who have received immunity from top BJP leaders, who are accused of crossing the limits of indecency with a student in Banaras Hindu University (BHU)," his post on X, roughly translated from Hindi, read.
"Question: Will the BJP leaders who play with the dignity of women continue to get a free hand?" the post further read.
CASE BACKGROUND
The men had allegedly disrobed her and even recorded the assault.
The incident sparked outrage with prolonged demonstrations by the IIT-BHU student body, calling for justice and enhanced security measures on campus.
