Sengar held guilty of Unnao rape

New Delhi, December 16

A Delhi court today convicted expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar for raping a woman in Unnao in 2017 saying the victim’s testimony was “truthful and unblemished” against a “powerful person”.

The court convicted Sengar for rape under the IPC and the POCSO Act for offence by a public servant committing penetrative sexual assault against a child.

The court will hear arguments on quantum of sentence on Wednesday. The offences entail maximum punishment of life imprisonment. District Judge Dharmesh Sharma, however, acquitted co-accused Shashi Singh of all charges.

Convicting Sengar, 53, under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the court said the CBI proved that the victim was a minor and he was rightly prosecuted under the special law.

“I found her statement truthful and unblemished that she was sexually assaulted. She was under threat, worried. She is a village girl, not from cosmopolitan educated area... Sengar was powerful person. So she took her time..,” the judge said while reading out the verdict.

When the judge started pronouncing the verdict, co-accused Singh fainted.

The court noted that after the victim wrote letter to the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, several criminal cases were filed against her family and “imprints of Sengar” were visible in them.

The court expressed surprise over the delay by the CBI in filing charge sheet in the rape case and said it prolonged trial against Sengar and others.

The court pulled up the CBI for delay in filing the charge as also the absence of women officer in conducting the probe “without bothering for the kind of harassment, anguish and re-victimisation that occurs for a victim of sexual assault”. It also expressed displeasure over the agency leaking selectively vital information relating to the statement of the survivor to put a cloud over her case.

The court said that “according to law, there should be female officers in CBI to record statement of victims in such cases, but surprisingly the girl was called many times to CBI office instead of going to her residence”.

It noted that investigation had to be conducted by a woman officer as mandated under Section 24 of the POCSO Act, but the statements of the victim had been recorded without bothering about it. — PTI

Minor’s ordeal

June 4, 2017 17-year-old girl allegedly raped by now expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar

April 9, 2018 The victim’s father dies in police custody

April 13  BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar arrested

July 28, 2019 A truck rams into victim’s car, killing her two aunts and leaving her and lawyer injured

Dec 16 Court convicts Sengar of rape

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.