‘Family’s proximity with MLA made victim vulnerable’
LUCKNOW: The family of the Unnao rape victim had ties to the accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Kuldeep Singh Sengar that might have made the teenager vulnerable, according to her uncle.
“She (the rape victim) used to refer to Kuldeep Singh as ‘Daddu’ (elder brother) while the MLA used to call my mother ‘Amma’,” said the girl’s uncle who cannot be named to protect the rape victim’s identity.
“My brothers and I were closely associated with the MLA for many years. We frequently visited Kuldeep’s house which is barely 50 metres from ours,” he said.
He added their proximity to the legislator’s family made the girl vulnerable.
“We could realise this only when she narrated her trauma to my wife during a visit to Delhi,” the girl’s uncle said, adding that relations between the two families got strained since June 2017 when she was allegedly raped.
The 15-year-old girl has alleged she was raped by Sengar on June 4 last year but the police initially failed to name the influ- ential leader in the official complaint. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is now probing the case and questioned Sengar on Friday. Both the MLA and his wife have denied the allegations and alleged a conspiracy.
“There was a time when we were completely devoted to the MLA. We campaigned for him during elections. We did not expect this from him,” the uncle said.
“I even called him up from Delhi when I came to know that my elder brother (the victim’s father) has been beaten up by Atul (Kuldeep’s younger brother) on April 3. He invited me to his house asking me to settle the dispute,” he said. The victim’s father died in jail earlier this week.
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My brothers and I were closely associated with the MLA for many years. We frequently visited his house which is barely 50 metres from ours
UNCLE OF THE VICTIM