Unnao rape case survivor dissatisfied with Delhi HC granting bail to Sengar

Unnao: The Unnao rape case survivor on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction over the Delhi High Court suspending the jail term of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Sengar, and asked why the security provided to her family lawyers and witnesses has been withdrawn.

“I have young children. My elderly, disabled mother-in-law and husband are at home. The safety of my children is the biggest concern,” she told PTI.

Sengar is serving life imprisonment in the 2017 rape case.

Suspending Sengar’s jail term till the pendency of his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence in the rape case, the Delhi High Court imposed several conditions on him.

It directed Sengar to furnish a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of like amount, not to come within a 5-km radius of the victim’s residence in Delhi and not to threaten her or her mother.

The expelled BJP leader has challenged a December 2019 trial court verdict in the rape case. He kidnapped the minor and raped her in 2017.

Reacting to the high court’s verdict, the survivor said that she was not satisfied with it.

She alleged that her family had to constantly make rounds of the court during the trial. The victim also questioned why the security provided to her family, lawyers, and witnesses had been withdrawn.

“Usually, a verdict is pronounced within two or three days after the conclusion of arguments. But in this case, the decision came after three months. Even before the verdict, security for the family and witnesses was withdrawn,” she alleged.

The survivor further said, “In the serious crime where my father was murdered and I was subjected to rape, the accused is granted bail after serving a few years in prison. This raises the question of what kind of justice this is.”

The victim is currently in Delhi.

Sengal has also been asked by the high court to deposit his passport with the trial court and to report to the local police station every Monday at 10 am. The rape case and other connected cases were transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the directions of the Supreme Court on August 1, 2019.