Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Monday hit out at the Uttar Pradesh’s BJP government over the accident involving the Unnao rape survivor, who had accused a BJP lawmaker of raping her, seeking answers to alleged lapses.
The woman from Unnao, who was allegedly raped by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar , was critically injured and her two relatives killed when a truck collided head-on with their car in Rae Bareli district on Sunday.
“The accident of the rape victim is shocking? What is the status of the CBI probe? Why is the accused legislator still in the BJP? Can we expect justice from the BJP government without getting answers to these questions first? Gandhi tweeted on Monday.
The Congress leader also questioned the Yogi Adityanath government over the alleged laxity in providing security to the rape survivor and the witness.
The deceased in the accident included the woman’s aunt and her sister, while their lawyer was also critically injured in the collision that took place when they were headed to meet the woman’s uncle, who is in Rae Bareli district prison.
The woman had been assigned a security guard, who was not present at the time of the accident. “There was no negligence in her security. Due to lack of space in her vehicle, she requested the security personnel deputed for security not to accompany her to Rae Bareli yesterday,” Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh said, according to ANI
The accused, Sengar, is an influential leader in the Bangarmau constituency, and the survivor’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 immolate herself 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.
A witness in the assault, Mohammed Yunus, died a few months later. Sengar has been in prison since outrage over the case grew and federal investigators stepped in.
First Published: Jul 29, 2019 12:32 IST
