Sengar gets life term for raping minor in Unnao
NEWDELHI: A Delhi court on Friday sentenced expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar to imprisonment for the remainder of his life for raping a minor in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao in 2017, fined him ~25 lakh, and ordered investigators to carry out a three-monthly assessment of a perceived threat to the life and security of the survivor and her family.
District judge Dharmesh Sharma ordered that the fine be paid within a month. Out of the money, ~10 lakh will go to the survivor, who was 16 years old when the rape took place, and the remaining to the Uttar Pradesh government for defraying the expenses incurred on the trial, said the judge.
The judge directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue assessing the “threat perception” to the life and security of the victim and her family members every three months. After expiry of the lease of the family’s rented accommodation, the agency shall ensure that the lease is extended for a reasonable period of time.
Sengar, a four-time Uttar Pradesh lawmaker, was on Monday
convicted of raping the woman in June 2017 when she approached him for help in getting a job. Co-accused Shashi Singh, who had allegedly taken the rape victim to Sengar’s house, was given the benefit of doubt and acquitted.
Sengar, 54, had pleaded with the judge at his trial to keep the fine minimal and not go by the election affidavit that listed his assets at ~1.44 crore.
The judge, who had praised the rape survivor for the fight she waged against a powerful politician, observed in his sentencing order on Friday that Sengar had betrayed the trust reposed in him by the people.
“…it may be reiterated that convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar was a ‘public servant’ when he committed the depraved act of aggravated penetrative sexual assault upon the minor girl... every coercive measure was adopted by the convict himself and through his henchmen to intimidate, harm and silence the victim girl and her family members from raising any voice against him,” judge Sharma said.
“The convict was a key democratic functionary being representative of the people and the offence committed by the convict has eroded the faith of the people to which he owed allegiance and a duty to exhibit upright moral behaviour and probity in personal and public life.
”The court also directed that the rape survivor and her family reside in the rented accommodation, which was made available to them by social workers of the Delhi Commission for Women and the state of Uttar Pradesh, for a period of one year.