Kuldeep Sengar who spoke for the first time since the accident was expelled by BJP.
Kuldeep Sengar, the politician accused of raping a teen from Unnao and then attempting to eliminate her through a road accident, has said the accusations are politically motivated. "I pray to god that she recovers," he told journalists outside the Sitapur Jail, where he was quizzed by the officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation before being shifted to Delhi for the trial.
The survivor and her lawyer are admitted in a hospital in Lucknow since the accident on July 28. The doctors have said her condition remains critical as she has developed pneumonia. Her lawyer has been taken off ventilator support, but he is still not out of danger.
The accident and the teen's family's allegation that Kuldeep Sengar has engineered it, triggered outrage in the country and brought the two-year-old case under the spotlight again.
The teen's plea to fast-tract the case was heard by the Supreme Court, a murder case was lodged against Kuldeep Sengar, and the lawmaker who had been in jail for a year, was expelled from the BJP. "I have faith in God, the high Court and the CBI," Kuldeep Sengar told reporters today. "I have faith in you too, you can get me justice," he added.
The Supreme Court has ordered that the CBI investigation into the car crash must be completed within a week and the trial in all five cases, including the rape case, must end within 45 days.
The agency has conducted searches in around 20 places across four districts - Lucknow, Unnao, Banda and Fatehpur - connected with the accused, the agency has said.
The accident last week left the rape survivor seriously injured and two of her aunts dead. He lawyer, who was also in the vehicle, suffered serious injuries. The family was on its way to the district jail in Rae Bareli to meet her uncle, when their car had a head-on collision with a truck. Her uncle is serving a life sentence in a separate case.
The family's allegation about Kuldeep Sengar's involvement in the accident gathered steam after it turned out that the number plates of the truck which rammed the car, had its number plates defaced with black paint. The mystery deepened as discrepancies surfaced over the driver's explanation that plates were defaced to stop it being spotted by the firm that gave loan for the vehicle, since they had defaulted on the payments.
A four-time legislator who represents Bangermau in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Kuldeep Sengar was accused of sexually assaulting the girl in 2017, when she went to his house to seek a job.
The case made headlines last year, when the girl and her mother attempted to immolate themselves in front of the house of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath last year.
The rape survivor's father died in judicial 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.