The Supreme Court has sought a report from its secretary general as to why the Unnao rape victim’s letter to CJI Ranjan Gogoi was not placed before it. The court said that it will take up the matter tomorrow.
“Unfortunately, the letter is yet to see the light of the day and newspapers flashed the news as if I have read it,” CJI Gogoi said.
The top court also asked the Uttar Pradesh authorities to file a status report by Thursday on the accident which took place on Sunday afternoon in Rae Bareli. The accident left the girl and her lawyer critically injured and her two aunts dead. The girl and her family members were travelling in a car when an overspeeding truck hit the vehicle on NH-31 in Rae Bareli.
The observations came when senior lawyer V Giri, who is assisting the court as an amicus curiae in child rape cases, sought urgent listing of the Unnao rape case.
The July 12 letter by the Unnao rape survivour was addressed to CJI Ranjan Gogoi. The girl said that she was under grave danger for raising her case. The top court has taken cognisance of the letter three days after a truck hit the girl’s car on NH-31 in Rae Bareli, leaving her critically injured. Her two aunts were killed in the tragedy and her lawyer was wounded seriously.
BJP MLA from Bangarmau in Unnao, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, is the prime accused in the rape case. The girl was allegedly raped by Sengar in 2017 at his residence in Unnao. However, a case was filed in 2018 after the girl tried to immolate herself outside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence in Lucknow.
Sengar is currently lodged behind the bars in Sitapur. Meanwhile, the CBI on Wednesday morning booked Sengar and 10 other under murder charges in connection with the accident case.