sentenced to Life in Jail

A lawmaker from India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

has been sentenced to life in jail in one of the year's most high-profile rape cases.

A trial court also ordered Kuldeep Sengar, 51, to pay 2.5mn rupees ($35,135;£27,000) as compensation.

Sengar was tried under child protection laws as the survivor was 17 when she was assaulted in 2017.

The case came to national attention last year when the woman tried to kill herself, alleging police inaction.

Kuldeep Sengar is a BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh

The woman, who can't be named under Indian laws, was seriously injured in a suspicious car crash in July.

While she survived, both her aunts, who had been travelling with her, died and her lawyer was seriously injured.

The woman's mother accused Sengar of orchestrating the accident - a charge he denied.

The BJP came in for sharp criticism over the fact that Sengar had remained in the party

despite the serious allegations against him -