The victim in the 2017 Unnao rape case has alleged threat to witnesses in the case after convict and former Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Kuldeep Sengar was granted parole by the Delhi High Court.
In a video released right after Sengar's parole, the victim sought the Supreme Court's intervention to keep him under police custody to prevent him from intimidating the witnesses.
"If the Delhi High Court has given interim bail to Kuldeep Singh Sengar, then he should be taken out of jail in custody of Delhi Police and kept under the supervision of the CBI. Because he is going to his daughter's wedding for 14 days. All my witnesses and all my advocates will be finished. It will be a great favour to all of you," the victim said.
Sengar, convicted for life for allegedly raping a minor girl in 2017, was on Tuesday granted 15 days’ parole to attend his daughter's wedding. The parole was granted by a division bench of Justices Mukta Gupta and Poonam A Bamba from January 27 to February 10. It directed Sengar to report to a prescribed station house officer on a daily basis during his release period and furnish two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each.
Sengar was sentenced by trial court on December 20, 2019 to "life imprisonment till the remainder of his biological life". The trial court found Sengar guilty under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 5(c) and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The rape case dates back to June 4, 2017, when the victim, then 17, was allegedly raped by the four-time BJP MLA from Bangermau in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district.
Sengar was also sentenced in another case on March 13, 2020 to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10 lakh after the victim's father, who was allegedly framed and arrested in an illegal arms case, died in judicial custody on April 9, 2018. On July 28, 2019, the victim’s two aunts were killed when a speeding truck hit the car in which they along with the victim and her lawyer were traveling. The victim and her lawyer were critically injured in the accident.
Sengar was expelled from the party by the BJP in August 2019.