Congress suspends rape-accused Rajasthan ex-MLA as obscene clips go viral

JAISALMER: Congress on Saturday suspended its former Barmer MLA Mewaram Jain, accused in a gang rape case, after two video clips, allegedly featuring him in an obscene act, went viral on social media, adding a new twist to an old case involving a complex web of allegations of sexual abuse, sextortion, blackmailing and money laundering.
The case rocked the state politics, with BJP going hammer and tongs against Congress and previous Ashok Gehlot government.In a late night development, Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said Jain had been suspended from the party's primary membership "in view of his immoral activities."
The case involves the former MLA and one of his close aides Ramswaroop Acharya, against whom a woman had lodged a complaint last month that they had been raping her for the last few years, had also sexually assaulted her teenager daughter and minor friend, and had been forcing her to procure young girls for them. Additionally, she alleged that Jain and Ramswaroop, along with six others, including a Rajasthan Police Service officer, had ensnared her in a false case, subjecting her to harassment.
After the video clips surfaced Friday, BJP lashed out at Gehlot-led Congress government. Union minister Kailash Choudhary said protectors had become predators under the previous government, which earned the state the dubious distinction of being the leader in atrocities against women.