Unnao rape survivor to move to SC challenging Delhi HC order granting bail to Kuldeep Sengar

New Delhi: The Unnao rape survivor expressed deep anguish over the Delhi High Court's decision to suspend life sentence to Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the former MLA convicted in the case involving the kidnapping and raping of the minor girl in 2017. She said she would move to the Supreme Court to challenge the order which suspended Sengar's jail term and granted him conditional bail.

The survivor alleged that BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh influenced the decision. She said she would approach the Supreme Court to challenge the High Court's order.

On Tuesday, A Delhi High Court bench comprising Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar granted him bail, directing him to furnish a personal bond of ₹15 lakh along with three sureties of the same amount.

Reacting strongly to the development, the survivor told IANS, "I want to say only this, that I am not happy with this High Court judgment. I felt that I could have ended my life, but then I thought about my children and my family. But then I thought that God has given me life, so I should fight for justice."

She also pointed out the injustice in the legal process, as her uncle, whom she claims was falsely implicated in a two-decade-old case filed by Sengar's brother, Atul Singh, has not been granted relief despite filing multiple bail applications.

"On the other hand, the one who raped me, who got my father killed at the hands of his brother, is getting bail from the court. This means he is a powerful man with money," she said.

Making serious allegations, the survivor claimed political backing was behind the decision.

"He has all the backing from Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. I think they have bribed the judge. That is why this decision was taken. This is an injustice. I will go to the Supreme Court," she told IANS.

The survivor also spoke about alleged police high-handedness during a recent protest. She said she and her family members were forcibly stopped from holding a dharna near India Gate.

"When we went to India Gate, the police did not let us hold a dharna. The police belong to the BJP. They picked me up in an improper manner. I have 250 stitches all over my body, despite that I was improperly picked up and thrown into the bus," she alleged.

She further claimed that she was taken to a police station and later released, adding that social activist Yogita Bhayana, who was accompanying her during the protest, was also treated similarly.

The survivor's mother voiced grave fears about the safety of her family following Sengar's release on bail.

"They have tried to kill us several times. We are not happy with the decision. They will find us, torture us and kill us. My husband was brutally killed, my brother-in-law is in jail, my sister-in-law and her sister were also killed; they will kill us all," she said, adding that the authorities had withdrawn the family's security cover.

Expressing loss of faith in the judicial process, the mother told IANS, "Now, I do not have any trust in the Delhi High Court. How can they grant bail to such a powerful man who has committed such a heinous crime?"

The Unnao rape case has been marked by a series of tragic incidents involving the survivor's family.

In April 2018, her father was arrested under the Arms Act following a complaint allegedly filed by Sengar's associates. Days later, he was found dead in police custody. A post-mortem examination revealed 14 injuries, including abrasions, contusions and bruises.

In another shocking incident in July 2019, a day after the survivor wrote to the Chief Justice of India detailing her ordeal, two of her aunts were killed when a truck rammed into the car in which the survivor and her lawyer were travelling to Rae Bareilly. The survivor and her counsel sustained serious injuries in the crash. The lawyer later succumbed to his injuries.

Meanwhile, the court has also imposed restrictions on Sengar, directing him not to enter within a five-kilometre radius of the victim's residence and restraining him from threatening or contacting the survivor or her mother.

The suspension of sentence will remain in force during the pendency of his appeal against the December 2019 trial court verdict that convicted him in the rape case.

(With IANS inputs)