The Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court has today sentenced all convicts, including the expelled Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, to 10 years in prison along with a fine of Rs 10 lakh, in the death case of the Unnao rape victim’s father.
Earlier, in the last week, the bench headed by Dharmesh Sharma of the Tiz Hazari Court had held seven people, including Sengar, his brother and two police personnel, guilty for culpable homicide not amounting to murder (since Sengar did not intend to kill the victim’s father) and criminal conspiracy, earlier this month.
“There can be no denying that the rule of law was broken. Sengar was a public functionary and had to maintain the rule of law. The way the crime has been committed; it does not call for leniency,” stated the judge Dharmesh Sharma.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, on 3 April 2018, there was an altercation between the rape victim’s father and one Shashi Pratap Singh. As per sources, the victim’s father along with his co-worker was returning to their village, Makhi, when they asked Singh for a lift. Singh denied them the lift, triggering an altercation among them. Singh then called his associates, following which Kuldeep Sengar’s brother, Atul Singh Sengar reached the spot along with others and beat up the victim’s father and his co-worker. The victim’s father was then taken to the police station by them where they registered an FIR against him and he was arrested.
The rape victim’s father was allegedly framed in an illegal arms case and arrested on 3 April 2018. He reportedly, died while in judicial custody, on 9 April 2018. He was beaten so brutally, that he succumbed to his injuries within a few days of arrest.
The charge sheet filed on July 13, 2018, said that Kuldeep Sengar was in touch with the district police superintendent and Makhi police station in-charge Ashok Singh Bhadauria, while the incident occurred and when the victim’s father was taken into custody. He even spoke to the doctor who examined the rape victim’s father.
Charges were framed against Sengar, his brother Atul, Bhadauria, sub-inspector Kamta Prasad, constable Amir Khan and six others in the case. The case was transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the directions of the Supreme Court on 1 August 2019.
Earlier, on 16 December, Sengar was held guilty of kidnap and rape the minor girl in Unnao. Subsequently, on 20 December, Sengar was sentenced for the “remainder of his natural biological life” in terms of Section 376(2) of Indian Penal Code, for raping the woman in 2017, while she was a minor.
Notably, Sengar is also facing another trial for an alleged criminal conspiracy behind the road accident which killed two of the Unnao rape victim’s aunts and has further inflicted grave injuries to the victim and her lawyer. The incident occurred near Rae Bareli on 29 July 2019, when a truck rammed into the car in which they were traveling.
The trial in the case was fast-tracked after being transferred to Delhi from UP on orders from Supreme Court.
