Indian police Friday arrested a former minister from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman. Swami Chinmayanand, 73, a former internal affairs minister, is the second senior member of the right wing Bharatiya Janata Party to face sex charges in recent months. Chinmayanand runs several educational and welfare institutions in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the victim was a student at one of his colleges, according to media reports.

The woman, who has accused the politician of rape, on Thursday threatened to set herself on fire if police did not take action against Chinmayanand. She filed a case in early September and authorities had faced criticism over the pace of the investigation.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019