Unnao case: Expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar has been accused of raping a teen
Highlights
- Car crash in UP's Raebareli "caused by negligence", says CBI
- Two of rape survivor's family members died in car crash
- Her family alleged expelled BJP MLA conspired to kill her
Expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar has not been charged for murder but criminal conspiracy and intimidation in a car crash case involving a teen who alleged she was raped by the MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Unnao. The Central Bureau of Investigation in its charge-sheet said the car crash in UP's Raebareli on July 28 that left two of the rape survivor's family members dead was "caused by negligence".
Kuldeep Sengar - a four-time legislator who represents Bangermau in the Uttar Pradesh assembly - has been in prison for a year over the alleged rape, which took place in 2017.
The teenager and her lawyer were also critically injured when the Maruti Suzuki Swift they were travelling in collided with a truck. It was raining heavily at that time. The truck driver Ashish Kumar Pal has been charged for negligence and rash driving under the Indian Penal Code, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
The family, residents of Unnao - around 45 km from state capital Lucknow - was on its way to the district jail in Rae Bareli to meet her uncle, who is serving a life term in a separate case.
It later turned out that the truck had its number plate scrubbed with black paint. The security detail that the girl was meant to have, was also not accompanying her.
The rape survivor's family has alleged Kuldeep Sengar planned the car crash to kill her. "I have got to know that the lawmaker got it done. He is inside... he has a phone inside (the jail). He is doing everything sitting inside the jail," the teen's mother told reporters after the car crash in July. "Sengar is in jail but his men aren't. He and his men were threatening us... We want justice."
The girl has alleged that in June 2017, she was sexually assaulted by the lawmaker when she went to his Unnao home with a relative, to seek a job. A year later, after running from pillar to post for justice, the girl and her mother attempted self-immolation outside the house of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, which drew the attention of the national media.
Days later, her father died after being detained by the police. Post-mortem report indicated that he was severely beaten. The family alleged the involvement of Kuldeep Sengar's brother Atul Sengar.
The CBI has told the court that the girl was raped by the lawmaker around on 4 June 2017. The agency has charged the lawmaker with rape and criminal conspiracy and his brother of murder.