Murder case against jailed BJP legislator Kuldeep Sengar after rape survivor’s accident

The Uttar Pradesh police have filed a murder case against Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Kuldeep Sengar and others on a complaint filed by the family of Unnao rape survivor who met with a car crash on Sunday afternoon. The rape survivor’s two aunts died in the crash. She and her lawyer are on life support. “Their condition is critical,” said Prof Sandip Tiwari, head of trauma surgery at the King George’s Medical University.

The police case against the BJP legislator and 10 others who are accused in a rape case filed by the survivor was registered on a complaint by her family who alleged the head-on collision between their car and a truck was a “conspiracy”.

Senior police officers had initially rejected the allegation but as opposition parties stepped in and attempted to corner the BJP over the crash, the state’s police leadership registered the case to signal that it had an open mind.

The Yogi Adityanath government had been blamed for sitting on its hands when the Unnao teenager had first accused the lawmaker of rape.

The police finally got moving after the Allahabad High Court took up the teenager’s case and ordered the police to arrest the powerful BJP MLA. The case, which had hugely embarrassed the ruling BJP, was eventually transferred to the CBI.

The teenager’s mother wants the car crash with the truck to be probed by the central agency as well.

“He (Kuldeep Sengar) wanted to kill the victim as well as my family. Earlier my husband was killed in police custody,” she told reporters on Monday outside the trauma centre that has been abuzz with political leaders and others visiting the victim’s family.

“Kuldeep Sengar is behind this incident. He has been threatening us. Sengar is in jail but he has access to mobile phone and has been giving directions to his supporters. This accident was a conspiracy to kill my daughter,” she said.

Also read: Unnao rape survivor on life support; family says accident a ‘conspiracy’

A girl, who identified herself as sister of the victim, said, “One of the aunts killed in the accident was witness of the rape case. The rape victim had told her ordeal to her aunt— who died in the mishap.” She also blamed people linked to Sengar for the accident.

Rajeev Krishna, UP’s additional director general of police, told reporters soon after the state was open to transferring the case to the CBI if this is what the family wanted. But for now, the state police is trying to establish what really happened.

The senior UP police officer told reporters that the head-on collision took place on a stretch of road in Raebareli district which did not have a road divider. It was raining when the accident took place.

Also read: Custody death, accident and more - 10 updates on Unnao rape case

Ravi Krishna said forensic teams sent to the spot were in the process of recreating the collision to determine what exactly happened. He did not comment on reports that the truck driver was driving on the wrong side, saying this would be ascertained during the forensic examination which would also include examination of the tire marks on the road.

The driver, cleaner and owner of the truck have been taken into custody.

The owner has told the police that the registration plates of the truck had been blackened with paint to make it difficult for the finance company to repossess the truck since he had defaulted on payments.