Lucknow: BSP president Mayawati and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav extended support to the Unnao rape victim on Wednesday, hoping the Supreme Court and the UP government will now ensure justice to the woman who has accused a BJP lawmaker of raping her two years ago.
The car of the rape victim, now 19, was hit by a truck on Sunday in Rae Bareli district, critically injuring her and her lawyer. Two of her family members died.
The woman’s family has filed a complaint alleging conspiracy behind the road accident.
“It is no secret that the accused MLA has had the patronage of the ruling BJP. This is why the rape case, which is with the CBI, is pending for a long time for one reason or the other and because of which the rape survivor today has become victim of a new mishap and battling for life. Very Sad,” Mayawati tweeted in Hindi.
She, however, said the top court taking cognizance of the woman’s letter, in which she had expressed fears that her life was under threat from political strongman and Bangermau MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, was a welcome move and has revived hopes of justice to her.
“The MLA’s threat to Unnao rape survivor and her family to withdraw cases and attempt to murder is a very serious allegation and the Supreme Court taking its cognizance is a very welcome move,” the BSP president added.
“BSP thanks the court. This has given hope of justice to the victim,” she said.
Yadav said the Samajwadi Party is with the victim and her family in this fight.
“The entire family is in grief. They don’t trust the administration because they had to fight to get justice from the first day. The victim had tried to self-immolate herself to get the FIR registered. They were getting threats regularly and the accident in which two members lost their life,” he told reporters outside Raj Bhavan.
Yadav visited the King George’s Medical University in Lucknow on Tuesday to inquire about the health of the victim, who was admitted there in critical condition after a truck hit her car in Rae Bareli on Sunday. Other than her, her lawyer was also critically injured.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court took note of the victim’s letter to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, alleging threat to her and her family from Sengar, a four-time MLA.
The letter signed by the girl, her mother and aunt stated that Sengar’s men visited her home on July 7 and threatened them. The next day, another person visited their home.
The top court sought a report from its secretary general why the woman’s letter had not been brought to the CJI’s notice. It also asked the Uttar Pradesh authorities to file a status report by Thursday on the accident of the Unnao rape case victim.
A copy of the letter, written by the victim and two of her family members, was also sent to the Allahabad High Court and Uttar Pradesh government authorities.
The CBI has booked MLA Sengar and nine others on murder charges in the accident case.
Sengar was arrested in April last year for allegedly raping the woman when she was a minor in 2017.
Uttar Pradesh BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh has said the MLA was suspended from the party “long back” following the rape accusation, and his status remains the same.
The party, however, has not given the date when this suspension took place.
Also read: Unnao rape victim’s plea reaches CJI Gogoi 18 days after she sent it, delay to be probed