New Delhi: A teenage girl who was allegedly raped by an expelled BJP lawmaker in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao won't be shifted to Delhi for treatment for injuries she suffered in a road accident on July 28. Her family told the Supreme Court today that they want her treatment to continue at the hospital in Lucknow where she is being treated for serious injuries.
The teenage girl and her family met with an accident in Rae Bareli when the car they were travelling in collided with a truck, whose number plate was scrubbed with black paint. Two of her aunts died. The girl's lawyer, who was also in the vehicle, has been admitted in hospital with injuries. The security detail that the girl was meant to have, was not accompanying her.
The Supreme Court was today hearing whether to airlift the rape survivor from a hospital in Lucknow to AIIMS in Delhi for treatment when her mother said it is not needed for now. The court then said the family is free to take a call on shifting her to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
"So far as the movement of the victim is concerned since the family wants treatment at Lucknow, we will wait... immediate concern is the health of the victim," the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said today.
The Supreme Court also told news organisations not to reveal the identity of the rape survivor, after it was pointed out that the media was running old interviews of her.
The Supreme Court today put on hold the transfer of the accident case from Lucknow to Delhi for 15 days. This was done due to jurisdiction issues as the Central Bureau of Investigation may have to get the trial court's permission for interrogation of the accused.
The CBI has sought custodial interrogation of Kuldeep Sengar. A team of the probe agency, along with forensic officers, will reach the accident site at Raebareli today to gather evidence.
The condition of the rape survivor and the lawyer is critical, sources said. The lawyer is off ventilator and is breathing on his own though he still needs oxygen support, they said.
The rape survivor has fever, is still on ventilator and underwent a procedure on Thursday, sources said.
A huge controversy broke over alleged inaction against now-expelled BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Sengar 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.
Kuldeep Sengar was with the Samajwadi Party before he jumped to the BJP ahead of the Uttar Pradesh election in March 2017. The rape took place in June that year, when the girl had gone to his Unnao home to look for a job.
He is in a jail in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur for more than a year. He used to make calls from inside the prison to threaten the family, said a police complaint filed by the teen's uncle a day after the accident last week. The girl's family alleged the lawmaker had engineered the accident.