A survivor of the 2017 Unnao rape case has criticized the Delhi High Court’s decision to grant relief to expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar. Sengar is currently serving a life sentence for the crime. The survivor described the court’s decision as “kaal” (death) for her family and announced that she would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court.
The court decided to suspend the sentence of Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is serving a life sentence in the Unnao rape case. The court ordered his release on bail pending an appeal against his conviction at the Court of First Instance, which was decided in December 2019.
The court ordered the release of Kuldeep Sengar and ordered that he not come within 5 kilometers of the victim’s residence and not threaten the deceased or her mother. She also said that breaching the conditions would result in the bail being automatically revoked.
But Kuldeep Singh Sengar will remain in jail as he is also serving a 10-year sentence for the death of the victim’s father and was not granted bail in that case.
When the Delhi High Court verdict came in, the rape victim said security for her family members and other witnesses had already been withdrawn. According to her, the court’s decision to suspend his life sentence only deepens her fears. The survivor was a minor when she was kidnapped and raped by Kuldeep Singh Sengar in 2017.
Reacting to the verdict, she said, “If the convict gets bail in such a case, how will the daughters of the country remain safe? For us, this decision is nothing less than ‘kaal’ (death).”
“Those with money win, those without money lose,” she lamented.
The survivor, who was protesting the verdict near Mandi House with her mother, added that she would challenge the HC order in the Supreme Court.
Women’s rights activist Yogita Bhayana, who staged a protest with the survivor’s mother at India Gate on Tuesday night, shared a video of the survivor and her mother on X.
In the video, the survivor claimed that she left home in the morning to meet her lawyer, who called her to sign some papers and appear before the Supreme Court, just like Bhayana. However, she alleged that the CRPF personnel tried to send her back home.
“I was screaming that I had to see my lawyer. I was also screaming in the vehicle and then the order came to take me (to see my lawyer),” she said, adding: “I just want justice to be done.”
She also claimed that her mother was manhandled during the protest.
However, a senior police officer said, “At around 8:45 pm on Tuesday, we removed the protesters from the spot and put them in a CRPF bus. No further action was taken.”
