Unnao rape survivor worries for her family's safety after suspension of Kuldeep Sengar's life sentence: 'My children are unsafe...'

Family of Unnao rape survivor

Unnao rape survivoe on Sunday reacted to CBI's petition before the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court's order of suspending the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Sengar.

While speaking to news agency ANI, she said, "I have faith in the Supreme Court that it will give me justice. I am raising the voice of every women... Had CBI done this before, I would have got justice."

"His (Kuldeep Sengar) bail would have been rejected because he raped me. My father was killed. My family members were killed. The security of my family members and witnesses was removed... My husband was fired from his job. My children are unsafe at home," she added.

The Supreme Court will on December 29 take up the CBI’s challenge to the Delhi High Court order that suspended the life sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 rape case.

According to the cause list, the matter will be heard by a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih.

The top court is also slated to hear a separate petition filed by advocates Anjale Patel and Pooja Shilpkar, who have independently questioned the high court’s decision to grant relief to Sengar.

The Delhi High Court, on December 23, suspended Sengar’s life imprisonment after noting that he had already spent seven years and five months behind bars.

The relief was granted pending the outcome of his appeal against the conviction. The Central Bureau of Investigation approached the Supreme Court three days later, on December 26, seeking a stay on the order.

Sengar was found guilty by a trial court in December 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 25 lakh, in the rape case.

While the High Court allowed him bail in this matter, he will continue to remain in custody as he is serving a separate 10-year jail term in a CBI case related to the custodial death of the survivor’s father. His appeal and plea for suspension of sentence in that case are also pending before the high court.

While granting bail in the rape case, the high court laid down strict conditions. These include furnishing a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties, a prohibition on entering a five-kilometre radius of the survivor’s residence in Delhi, and a clear directive barring him from threatening or influencing the survivor or her mother.