india

Updated: Jun 07, 2020 06:38 IST

The CBI has booked BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar and at least 30 of his aides for allegedly conspiring to murder and attempt to murder the young woman, who has accused the politician of raping her, and her lawyer in connection with a road accident case.

The 19-year-old woman and her lawyer were critically injured and her aunt and aunt’s sister died in a road accident in Rae Bareli on Sunday. Her family has accused Bangarmau MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the main accused in the rape case, of planning the accident.

A senior Central Bureau of Investigation official said a case under sections 302 for murder, 307 for attempt to murder, 120-B for criminal conspiracy and 506 for criminal intimidation of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been lodged on the basis of an FIR lodged by the woman’s uncle at Gurubakshganj police station of Rae Bareli late on Tuesday.

Watch | CJI to take up Unnao rape survivor’s letter on threats; CBI books accused MLA

Kuldeep Singh Sengar, his brother Manoj Singh Sengar and accomplices Vinod Mishra, Hari Pal Singh, Navin Singh, Komal Singh, Arun Singh, Gyanendra Singh, Rinku Singh and advocate Awadesh Singh, as well as 10-15 other unidentified people, have been named in the FIR.

Arun Singh, the block pramukh of Nawabganj, is the son-in-law of state minister with independent charge, Ranvendra Pratap Singh alias Dhunni Singh.

When contacted on the minister’s phone, one of his aides said Ranvendra was in a meeting and not available immediately for comment. Ranvendra holds charges of ministries of agriculture, education and research.

Also read: Custody death, accident and more: All about Unnao rape case

The CBI official said the case was registered after the Uttar Pradesh government gave its consent on July 29 and the Centre’s notification on July 30 to investigate the case. He said additional superintendent of police (ASP) Ram Singh of CBI’s Lucknow Anti- Corruption Bureau will investigate the matter.

He said the woman’s uncle had accused the MLA and others of hatching the conspiracy to kill the gangrape victim and her aunt, who was the key witness in the case.

In the FIR registered with CBI, the woman’s uncle has also accused Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his aides of threatening him and his family members often to mount pressure on them to withdraw cases against him.

He alleged his wife and others were coming to meet him with papers related to the cases when their vehicle was hit by a truck, on the direction of the MLA. The mother of the rape survivor also alleged that Kuldeep Singh Sengar was behind the accident.

Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a four-time MLA who represents Bangarmau in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, was arrested in July 2018 for allegedly raping the woman, who was a teenager then, at his house in 2017.

Also read: 3 months ago, Unnao victim’s mother filed plea for trial transfer

The condition of the victim and her lawyer continued to be critical. Both were on life support in King George’s Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow, doctors said.

“The girl was in shock, apart from the fracture in the leg and collar bone, besides head and chest injury. Hence we have shifted her to ventilator support. Her condition is critical but stable,” said Dr Samir Misra, senior faculty, trauma surgery, at KGMU.

The Yogi Adityanath-led government had also set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the accident case on Tuesday. The state police had filed a murder case against Kuldeep Singh Sengar and nine others on Monday following a complaint by the woman’s family, alleging “conspiracy” behind Sunday’s car crash.

Protests have been held in Parliament in Delhi and in state capital Lucknow by opposition parties who accused the Uttar Pradesh government of patronising the accused and not protecting the interest of the victim. The BJP government in the state defended itself and said it was not protecting the accused in the case who remained suspended since the rape allegations were first made.

The family members of the Unnao rape victim had written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on July 12, saying they were being threatened by the accused’s relatives to settle the case or face the consequences.

Also read: CJI to take up Unnao rape survivor’s letter on threats tomorrow, says it hadn’t reached him