‘Me and my family may be killed’

UNNAO: The teenager who was allegedly raped by BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Singh Sengar on Thursday expressed apprehension that she and her family could be killed if the lawmaker was not arrested.

“Why the delay in arresting him? A case has been registered but why has he not been arrested,” the victim asked. “Arrest him immediately, only then I will get justice for my suffering, else this FIR is a sham,” she said while talking to HT at her hotel room where she has been staying for the last two days. Her family believes that the FIR and the recommendation for a CBI probe, which was accepted by the Centre on Thursday evening, was a part of the conspiracy to delay his arrest.

“If he is not jailed, he will kill all of us like my father was murdered in cold blood,” she said.

“We are living under a constant shadow of terror for the last one year. He raped me, kidnapped me, killed my father and now his men are looking for an opportunity to kill me and my family. Aren’t these reasons enough to arrest him?” she asked.

The girl has alleged that Sengar raped her on June 4 last year but police failed to name the MLA in the official report. The woman tried to kill herself in front of the chief minister’s residence on Sunday, days after her father was allegedly attacked by Sengar’s brother and aides attacked on April 3. A day later, the father died of injuries inside the jail; he had been arrested for allegedly illegally possessing firearms. The victim asked the same question about the delay in his arrest to the SIT members when they reached her hotel room to record her statement on Thursday.

Her uncle said Sengar’s arrest was necessary to get justice for her.

The MLA’s men are already intimidating the key witnesses in the case, he alleged.

He further said that the government is making all efforts to protect the MLA and also questioned the government’s wisdom in letting the CBI decide on his arrest. “We are ready for the CBI investigation but why has this condition been imposed on his arrest?”

The victim, who was examined by a doctor after she fainted several times since the morning, said her quest for justice will continue and she will stage a sit-in at Jantar Mantar in Delhi if Sengar is not arrested. She also said that she would rather kill herself than continue to suffer in the absence of justice.

The family said the police could have acted decisively against the MLA, especially since he has been charged under the POCSO Act.

Prominent lawyer Shivakant Dixit expressed fear that it is a heinous offence and since it involves a powerful politician, evidence could also be tampered with.