Pol jailed after suggesting rival be raped

LUCKNOW, India, July 16 (UPI) -- A senior female politician from India's ruling Congress Party faces 10 years in prison for suggesting a rival female leader should be raped, authorities said.

Rita Bahuguna Joshi, the leader of the Congress Party in Uttar Pradesh, said in a speech that rival politician Mayawati, the Dalit, or "untouchable," chief minister of the state, should be raped so she can better understand the victims of sexual crimes.

Joshi, who allegedly also made derogatory remarks about Mayawati's low caste origins, was arrested and imprisoned hours later and her home was burned to the ground, allegedly by Mayawati supporters, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported.

It is illegal to make derogatory comments about lower castes under Indian laws.

Joshi had criticized the awarding of 25,000 rupees (about $515) each to compensate several Dalit women who were raped in Uttar Pradesh and said the women should "throw the money at Mayawati's face and say to her, 'You should be raped and I will give you 10 million rupees.'"

Joshi later apologized for her remarks, but was jailed for two weeks pending investigations for allegedly insulting a woman's modesty, insulting a person of lower caste and "promoting social enmity." All three offenses are punishable by a 10-year prison sentence.

Joshi was not charged with any crime pending the investigation's conclusion.