UP: Family of Unnao rape complainant claims accused MLA planned car crash that killed her aunts
The police are looking into the request of the woman’s uncle for CBI investigation into the case.
The family of a teenager who had accused Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar of rape last year has blamed the legislator’s men for a crash crash on Sunday in which she was injured, News18 reported.
The 19-year-old was critically injured on Sunday when her car was hit by a truck in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli district. She and her lawyer are in serious condition, while two of her aunts died. The injured are undergoing treatment in Lucknow.
“Sengar’s men are behind this incident,” the woman’s mother told News18. “He uses a cell phone from inside the jail. He might be in jail but his men are outside. We are being threatened by his men continuously.” Sengar, an MLA from Bangarmau in Unnao, is lodged in Sitapur district jail.
The woman’s sister claimed they had been constantly receiving threats. “People even follow me when I go outside,” she claimed. “One of the henchmen of the MLA, Naveen, had threatened my aunt of dire consequences.”
Her cousin alleged Sengar and his associates planned the attack “to threaten us so that we stop pursuing the case”, The Indian Express reported on Monday. “Everyone in the village knew they were going to Rae Bareli jail,” the cousin added.
The truck was reportedly on its way to Fatehpur after delivering red sand in Rae Bareli. The truck’s driver, cleaner and owner have been detained. Additional Director General of Lucknow zone Rajeev Krishna told reporters that the police were investigating if the numbers of the driver, cleaner and owner match with known contact numbers of Sengar and his associates.
“Case [is] being registered on complaint of the rape survivor’s uncle,” he said. “He has also requested to transfer this case to CBI. We are getting a report on that request. As soon as that report comes it will be recommended to CBI.” The complainant’s uncle is lodged in a district jail at present.
The officer said the vehicle’s owner claimed that the truck’s number plate had been blackened as he had not paid installments of a loan taken to purchase it. “We are verifying claims of the driver, owner and eyewitnesses,” Krishna added. “Tyre marks and sequence of incident are being also considered during probe.”
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Earlier in the day, Director General of Police OP Singh said the state government was ready to recommend a CBI investigation into the incident if the family made a request, PTI reported. Singh said preliminary inquiries suggested it was an accident caused by a speeding truck, according to ANI. “We will conduct a free and fair probe,” he added.
Singh said there was no negligence in the security provided to the complainant. “Due to lack of space in her vehicle, she requested the security personnel deputed for security not to accompany her to Rae Bareli yesterday,” he added.
Unnao Superintendent of Police Madhav Prasad Verma also confirmed that the security officer who usually accompanies the family was not with them on Sunday. Verma said he would accompany the complainant’s mother, her three sisters and brother to Lucknow.
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation. “I will raise the issue in Zero Hour in Lok Sabha,” he told ANI. “Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MPs will raise the issue in the House also.”