Indian with ties to BJP sentenced to 40 years in Australia for rape

An Australian court has handed down a 40-year prison sentence to Balesh Dhankhar, an Indian national, affiliated to India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for the rape of five Korean women.

The court on Saturday described his actions as “elaborately executed, manipulative and highly predatory,” highlighting the severity of his crimes.

Dhankhar, who has been identified in Indian media as the founder of the Australian chapter of the Overseas Friends of BJP, a support group for India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, was found guilty of 39 offences.

He has been charged with 13 counts of rape, six counts of administering an intoxicating substance, 17 counts of recording intimate videos without consent, and three counts of indecent assault.

The case has drawn considerable attention, not only due to the nature of the crimes but also because of Dhankhar's political affiliations.

The Hindustan Times reported that until his arrest in 2018, Dhankhar was well-regarded in the Indian-Australian community.

He founded a satellite group of the Bharatiya Janata Party and served as a spokesperson for the Hindu Council of Australia.

The Overseas Friends of BJP had reportedly played a role in organising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reception in Sydney in 2014.

The group said that Dhankhar had resigned in 2018, the year in which he was arrested.

According to the investigation, Dhankar lured the women with fake job advertisements for Korean-to-English translation work.

Police later found extensive video evidence of his crimes, as well as date-rape drugs and a hidden recording device at his home.