The survivor of the Unnao rape case, who had in 2017 accused BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Singh Sengar of sexually assaulting her, was critically injured when the Swift car she was travelling in was hit head-on by an over-speeding truck in Rae Bareli on Sunday. Two of her aunts were killed in the accident. Unnao police said that the accident occured when the rape survivor, along with her lawyer, maternal and paternal aunts, was going to Rae Bareli jail to meet her uncle.
Rae Bareli Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar Singh said that the truck was over-speeding and the driver lost control as there were showers. Singh said that he had learnt this after speaking to the eyewitnesses. Police are also trying to bring in the truck driver who fled from the spot immediately after the accident.
“Two women were killed in the accident. The rape survivor and the lawyer are in a critical condition,” ADG Lucknow Rajeev Krishna was quoted as saying by news agency PTI earlier. The 19-year-old rape survivor and lawyer are being treated at a hospotal in Lucknow.
The girl’s family accused the BJP lawmaker of planning the accident. The survivor’s mother told reporters that she believes Sengar is involved in the accident. “Sengar is in jail but his men aren’t. He and his men were threatening us,” her mother was quoting as saying by NDTV.
“MLA Kuldeep Singh and his associates planned the attack to threaten us so that we stop pursuing the case,” the rape survivor’s cousin in Unnao told the Indian Express.
In 2017, the rape case against Sengar, a four-time MLA, had been filed at the Makhi police station in Uttar Pradesh. The rape survivor had in her complaint alleged that she had been taken to Sengar’s house by a Shashi Singh, after being given an assurance that the BJP leader would get her a job.
The survivor also alleged that her father was beaten up by Sengar’s brother and then framed in a case of assault under the Arms Act. Days after the girl’s father was sent to jail, his health deteriorated. He died at the district hospital during treatment.
The case came to light when the survivor tried to immolate herself outside chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence, alleging police inaction. The case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after a public uproar. Sengar was arrested on April 13 last year and is currently lodged in the Sitapur district jail.
