New Delhi: The BJP Thursday expelled its suspended Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is accused of raping a teenager from Unnao in 2017.
The decision comes on a day the Supreme Court decided to move the investigation into the rape out of the state.
A four-time MLA from Bangermau, Sengar was arrested in April last year on charges of rape and has been in jail since. Last week, he was charged with murder after the rape survivor sustained critical injuries in a road accident that killed two of her aunts and also left her lawyer severely injured.
The woman’s family has alleged that the accident was a conspiracy to kill her, an accusation opposition parties have also repeated.
Also read: Unnao teen wrote to CJI Gogoi on 12 July saying she was ‘threatened judge will be bought’
Sengar was an influential leader in the Bangarmau constituency, and the woman’s family battled for a year before he was named in a police case for the rape. On April 8, 2018, the survivor attempted to set herself on fire outside the residence of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to draw attention to the case.
The following day, her father was allegedly assaulted by Sengar’s brother and his accomplices in police custody, leading to fatal injuries. A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe indicted the MLA and several people connected to him of attempts to frame the survivor’s family in order to pressure her to drop the case.
(With PTI inputs)
Also read: Kuldeep Sengar, the Unnao rape accused even BJP can’t act against
Glad to see that somebody has drawn attention to Sakshi Maharaj, the BJP MP from Unnao itself. He himself is a murder accused of an MLA Brahm Dutt Dwivedi. Sure the BJP is a party with a DIFFERENCE. It is becoming more and more obvious by the day.
It’s only when Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s position became untenable, did the BJP expel him from the party. What about Sakshi Maharaj? The part prides itself on women empowerment but will only act when people like these are subjected to the law of diminishing returns!
Events, dear boy, events. On the economy, the tragic suicide of Shri V G Siddhartha. On governance, the brazen hit and run assault on the Unnao survivor. A wise government would heed these signals in good time. The national mood can begin to change.
The right decision, if belated. There was a warm, snug blanket of immunity in which the state administration had enfolded Sengar . When others falter, the media – including our friend Shivam Vij – should be relentless.