Unnao Rape Survivor's Family Films "Threats" From Men Of Accused Lawmaker

The Unnao rape survivor's family shot a video to back up their claim that they were receiving threats from the men of accused BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Sengar. Earlier this month, they had written to the Chief Justice of India and the local police chief, detailing the threats they were receiving. The cellphone video to back up the claims was shot by the girl's sister a few days ago, says the family.

The family has claimed that the threats had culminated in Sunday's car crash, in which the survivor and her lawyer have been injured and two of her aunts died. The teen and the lawyer are admitted at a hospital in Lucknow. The doctors said their condition is critical.

Following the family's claim that Kuldeep Sengar, who has been in jail for a year, had engineered the accident to eliminate the survivor, the police have filed a murder case naming him. The First Information Reports also mentions the family's claims of regular threats from Sengar's men.

The family says they wrote about the video in a letter to the cops, however, they did not respond. 

In the video, which the family later gave to local reporters, a man in a blue shirt is seen standing on the street, presumably outside the survivor's house. He doesn't leave despite repeated appeals from a woman, who is the sister of the survivor.

"Don't come to our doorstep... What have we done? You are responsible for what has happened," the survivor's sister is heard saying.

"You have destroyed my family," retorted the man, who has been identified as the husband of Shashi Singh, an aide of the legislator. Shashi Singh is one of the nine accused in the case arrested in April last year. She has been jail since then.

The teen has claimed that she was sexually assaulted by the lawmaker when she went to his Unnao home to seek a job in 2017. A year later, her father died in judicial custody. He was arrested for allegedly possessing illegal arms. Before the arrest, he was beaten up by Atul Sengar, the brother of Kuldeep Sengar, and his men.

Kuldeep Sengar's men have told the family that they would be killed if they do not settle the case with him, the family mentioned in their complaint to the police.

"Sengar's men used to scare us. They used to say, 'you will not be able to do anything'. The police used to ask us to compromise. They used to say 'khatam karo ye kahani (end this story)'," the rape survivor's cousin has told NDTV.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice, dated July 12, which is in possession of NDTV, the family had said, "Legislator Kuldeep Sengar's brother and two others came to our home and threatened us". Another letter written the next day to the Special Superintendent of Police of Unnao says they were threatened with cases against the entire family.

But the family says no action was taken by the authorities after the letters. The security personnel assigned to the teen did not accompany her on Sunday. The assigned gunner told NDTV that the family had asked them to stay back citing lack of space in the car.

The rape cases filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation is yet to be heard despite the Supreme Court's direction to fast track such cases.