‘ After rape, he wiped my tears, promised job’ SIT visits village for probe, faces angry protesters
UNNAO GANG RAPE Survivor alleges her family is under ‘house arrest’, being denied food and water; administration denies charges
LUCKNOW/UNNAO: The 18-year-old woman, who has accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Bangarmau constituency Kuldeep Singh Sengar of raping her last year, said on Wednesday that she and her family have been put under house arrest in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district.
“I am seeking justice for the last one year; it is being denied to me, the BJP is saving the MLA. We are not allowed to move out, we are constantly guarded,” she said, adding, “we haven’t been given food or water. They want us to break down.”
The administration denied the charges and claimed four rooms had been kept in a local hotel to ensure the safety of the woman and her family.
Four inspectors and 12 police constables stood guard in the hotel hall. Six policewomen were on the floor where the woman was given a room.
“Kuldeep Sengar raped me at his house, he promised me a job then and threatened to kill my family,” she told media. “He didn’t allow us to study, kept my family under his thumb.”
An activist, Madhu Garg, who met the woman for an hour, said the survivor had told her that Sengar would lock female students of a school he owned, and sexually harass them.
“This created fear among the girls. Many stopped going to school. Even this girl dropped out after Class 8,” Garg said.
“On June 4 (last year), when the girl was taken to the MLA with a job promise, he raped her. When she pleaded with the MLA to let her go, he wiped her tears and said that he would ensure her a job — if she stayed quiet and did not talk about the rape to anyone,” the activist added.
Garg said the four-time MLA’S influence ensured no one spoke against him. “No police (officer) would tolerate any complaint against Sengar,” said Garg, quoting her conversation with the complainant. The woman has now complained of fatigue and high levels of stress. Her rela- tives say she has fainted a number of times since Tuesday night.
The woman has alleged that Sengar and his aides raped her on June 4 last year. She has also said the police did not name Sengar in the official document that recorded her complaint.
On April 3 this year, her father was allegedly assaulted by the MLA’S brother, Atul Singh Sengar. She said that three people barged into her house, tied her father to a tree and thrashed him before handing him over to the police, which registered a case against him for allegedly possessing an illegal firearm.
The father died in judicial custody last Sunday. Chief medical officer of Unnao Dr SP Chaudhary has said that there were 14 injuries found on his body and that he died of shock and septicaemia caused due to perforation in the intestine.
The state government has set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the charges, while six policemen have been suspended in this connection.
“If Kuldeep Sengar is not hanged, I have reached a point where I will kill myself,” she said, adding that all she wanted was a meeting with chief minister Yogi Adityanath. “He had assured me of justice when I met him in August last year; this government is doing nothing.”
Her uncle said the family had no faith in the SIT and claimed it could be easily influenced.
“We want the CBI to investigate this case. The government should order a CBI inquiry,” he said. The woman had attempted self-immolation in front of Adityanath’s residence on Sunday, saying the police did not hear her out despite her repeated efforts to lodge a complaint. UNNAO: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the alleged rape of an 18-year-old woman and the death of her father in judicial custody faced angry protesters upon reaching village Makhi in Unnao district on Wednesday, officials said.
The police had a tough time enabling the SIT officials to reach the survivor’s house, people in the area said.
The team spoke to the woman and her family amid a show of strength by the accused BJP MLA.
Thousands of people poured in from adjoining villages holding placards that claimed MLA Kuldeep Sengar was innocent.
The SIT, headed by additional director general (Lucknow zone) Rajiv Krishna, reached Makhi police station at 10.25am. After speaking to officials for about 20 minutes, the team headed for the village, nearly a kilometre away.
During their two-hour stay, the SIT spoke to the survivor and other family members. Security was extremely tight and nobody was allowed within 100 metresof the interrogation.
The team visited the spot, where the alleged rape survivor’s father was allegedly assaulted on April 3. The officials also spoke to the 18-year-old woman’s neighbours.
The MLA’S ancestral home is about 60 metres from the alleged rape survivor’s residence.
The people whom the SIT spoke to refused to comment.
The team later went to Unnao town and questioned six doctors at the district hospital. Three of these had conducted the postmortem on the woman’s father.
The others included a doctor, who first examined and admitted him to a hospital on April 9 when he was brought from the district jail, and two others who treated
him during the night.
Additional director general (Lucknow) Rajiv Krishna said the team would submit an interim report to the government by late Wednesday.
Locals said it appeared the news of the SIT’S arrival was leaked well in advance and the MLA’S team managed to bring in a large number of supporters. People were brought in from Bhagwant Nagar, Bangarmau and Unnao Sadar, the three assembly constituencies that Kuldeep Sengar has represented in his career, they said.
I am seeking justice for the last one year. The BJP is saving the MLA (Sengar). We haven’t been given food or water. They want us to break down.