The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday dropped the murder charge against former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his aides in connection with the road accident of a woman who had accused him of rape, PTI reported.

The car crash, which took place in Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh in July, had severely injured the woman and her lawyer and killed two of her aunts. The complainant was airlifted from a hospital in Lucknow in August and brought to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi for better treatment. She was discharged from the hospital last month.

Sengar, the MLA from Unnao’s Bangermau constituency, has been in jail since April 2018 in connection with the rape case. The complainant and her family had alleged that the car crash was orchestrated by him, and the Supreme Court had in August asked for an investigation by the CBI. The investigating agency filed a chargesheet before a special court in Lucknow on Friday.

Sengar, who was expelled by the BJP in August, and nine of his aides had earlier been booked by the CBI for criminal conspiracy, murder and attempt to murder, in connection with the accident. The chargesheet retained the Indian Penal Code sections for criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation, unidentified officials told PTI.

Ashish Kumar Pal, who was driving the truck that hit the woman’s car, was charged under relevant sections for causing death by negligence, causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others and rash driving.

The CBI on Friday also recommended to the Uttar Pradesh government departmental action against some officers, but did not reveal their identity.

Earlier this month, the CBI filed a chargesheet in a case of alleged gangrape of the complainant. This is a separate rape case from the one filed against Sengar. The CBI named three persons as accused in the chargesheet – Naresh Tiwari, Brijesh Yadav Singh and Shubham Singh. All three individuals are currently out on bail.

On September 29, a court in Delhi asked the Delhi Commission of Women to help the family of the complainant find her accommodation in the national Capital. The district judge gave the order during in camera proceedings of the case after the woman’s lawyer told the court that house owners were unwilling to give homes on rent to the family even for a short duration due to the case.

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