Vadodara: BJP suspends party member facing rape allegations by nursing student

BJP on Sunday suspended party member Jayesh Patel, the founder-president of a privately-owned University in Vadodara, a day after he was booked for allegedly raping a 21-year-old nursing student of his institute.

"We got the first hand information through media (about the rape charge) and have suspended J K Patel from the primary membership of the party. It's our moral responsibility to suspend him. He will not be a party member," BJP district unit president Dilubha Chudasama said.

In her complaint filed on Saturday, the student said she was raped by Patel (66) at his residence, located near the girls' hostel, after the rector Bhavnaben Patel took her there on Friday night. She also alleged that Patel threatened to rusticate her from the institute and fail her in the nursing course if she disclosed the incident to anyone, police had said.

A case was registered at Waghodia police station against Patel under sections 376 (rape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, while Bhavnaben booked under 114 (abetment).

Meanwhile, the woman was today taken to the state-run SSG Hospital here for medical examination.

Patel, a prominent educational entrepreneur and founder of Parul University located at Waghodia near here, had contested state assembly elections twice as Congress candidate against sitting BJP MLA Madhu Srivastava, but lost both the times. He had recently joined the BJP.