Delhi court convicts Former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in Unnao rape case

Former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was today found guilty of kidnapping and raping a young girl, then a minor, from Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district two years ago.

Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday with the maximum possible punishment being life imprisonment. A second accused – Shashi Singh, who was accused of taking the rape survivor to Kuldeep Singh Sengar – has been acquitted.

The judge praised the rape survivor for “fighting against a powerful person” and slammed the foisting of false cases against her family. The judge also questioned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over delays in filing a chargesheet.

The girl was sexually assaulted by the the politician when she went to home to seek a job in 2017. Her father died in custody, arrested for allegedly possessing illegal arms. Before the arrest, he was beaten up by Atul Sengar, the brother of Kuldeep Sengar, and his men. Atul Sengar has also been arrested and accused of murder.

The girl was critically injured and two of her aunts died in the crash that her family alleges was planned by the man she has accused of rape, jailed BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Sengar.

The then Chief Justice had sought a report from the top court registry on the delay in bringing the letter sent on July 12 by the teen rape survivor and her family to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi alleging grave danger to them was taken up by the Supreme Court.

During in-camera proceedings, District Judge Dharmesh Sharma had said he was likely to pronounce the verdict on December 16 after conclusion of hearing of final arguments by the CBI and the accused in the case.

The judge heard the case on a day-to-day basis from August 5 after it was transferred to Delhi from a court in Lucknow on Supreme Court’s directions.