Akhilesh Yadav said the Unnao case should be investigated under a sitting judge (File)
Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav today lacerated the BJP, accusing it of not taking action against Kuldeep Sengar, a rape-accused legislator who has now been named in a murder case. Kuldeep Sengar has been in jail for more than a year over the rape of a teenage girl from Unnao. The survivor met with an accident on Sunday; her family said it was engineered by the lawmaker in an attempt to eliminate her. The girl, who suffered serious injuries, is fighting for her life.
"The BJP is a very sanskaari (cultured) party, disciplined party... don't know when the BJP will investigate this case," Akhilesh Yadav told reporters in Lucknow today as a huge controversy broke over the BJP's alleged inaction against the lawmaker despite the survivor's ordeal - from losing her father in police custody to two aunts dying in a road accident. One of the aunts was also a witness in the rape case.
Akhilesh Yadav's attack on the BJP adds to the list of opposition leaders who have been demanding that the BJP sack Kuldeep Sengar from the party.
Before jumping to the BJP ahead of the assembly election in March 2017, Kuldeep Sengar was with the Samajwadi Party. The rape took place in June that year, when the girl had gone to his Unnao home to look for a job.
The four-time legislator from Bangarmau in Unnao, Kuldeep Sengar is a local strongman and had even belonged to Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party ahead of joining the Samajwadi Party.
Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh said Kuldeep Sengar was suspended from the party but did not mention when. "He will stay suspended. CBI inquiry in the case is underway," the state BJP chief told news agency ANI.
Akhilesh Yadav's attack on the BJP government comes a day after a First Information Report, filed following a complaint from the survivor's uncle, alleged that the lawmaker's men told his family "the entire government is standing with Kuldeep Sengar" and the police asked them to "compromise" because they feared losing their jobs.
The FIR also said the family claimed that the lawmaker had considerable influence over the case even from inside the prison. He had been calling them, demanding that they drop the case.
"You can never trust the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath). The government should come out and support the girl. The BJP can say anything and get anything done," said Mr Yadav.
"The police are saying what it is being asked to do, from the top. Did we give the police 1090 (women's helpline) so that people don't get justice? This should be investigated under a sitting judge," said the Samajwadi Party chief.
The Adityanath government maintains free and fair investigation is going on and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will probe the accident that happened on Monday that left the rape survivor seriously injured and two of her aunts dead. Her lawyer, who was also in the vehicle, suffered serious injuries. The truck's number plate was found scrubbed with black paint.
The rape survivor's father died in police custody, arrested for allegedly possessing illegal arms. Before the arrest, he was beaten up by Atul Sengar, the brother of Kuldeep Sengar, and his men. Atul Sengar has also been arrested and accused of murder. The police personnel in charge of the security of the rape survivor had informed Kuldeep Sengar of her movements, according to the FIR.