BJP legislator Kuldeep Sengar finally named in Unnao rape case, UP govt calls for CBI probe

Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Kuldeep Singh Sengar has been booked for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl last year in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao even as the Yogi Adityanath-led government handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation amid widespread criticism and outrage over police inaction.

The first information report against Sengar, who represents the Bangarmau constituency in Unnao, was registered at Makhi police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code as well as the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

The FIR was registered on the complaint of the mother of the girl, who was allegedly raped and harassed by the MLA.

The Uttar Pradesh government also handed over the cases of rape and the custodial death of the teenager’s father to the probe agency. The girl has accused Sengar’s brother Atul of assaulting her father, who was later arrested for allegedly illegally possessing firearms and died of his injuries in judicial custody.

The state government has sent a letter to the department of personnel and training and Union ministry of home affairs for the central probe.

Hours before he was charged with rape, Sengar visited the house of the senior superintendent of police in Lucknow on Wednesday.

But instead of arresting him, as media reports suggested prior to his visit, a policeman at the house of the senior superintendent told Sengar that he will be contacted if needed. He insisted to reporters that he was being framed.

The decision to handover the case to the agency was taken after the Adityanath government received the report of the special investigation team headed by additional director general of police (Lucknow zone) Rajeev Krishna, a government official said.

The government made the report public soon after BJP chief Amit Shah left for Delhi after holding a marathon meeting with Adityanath and other party leaders.

A separate inquiry report has been submitted by deputy inspector general of police (prison) Love Kumar on the role of Unnao jail officials where the father of the girl died in judicial custody. The district magistrate of Unnao has also submitted a report to the state government on lapses on part of the district hospital.

The state government also decided to suspend chief medical superintendent Dr DK Dwivedi and EMO Dr Prashant Upadhyay based on the report submitted by Krishna.

“Disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against three doctors namely Manoj Kumar (ortho surgeon), GP Sachan (surgeon) and Gaurav Agrawal (EMO) for laxity in giving proper medical care to the victim’s father, both prior to judicial custody and on referral from jail to the district hospital while in judicial custody,” a statement said.

“Circle officer Safipur Kunwar Bahadur Singh has been suspended for negligence in handling the repeated complaints given by the victim,” it added.

The state government has also ordered to provide adequate security to the girl and her family.

The alleged rape took place on July 4 last year but the MLA was not formally named in the investigation. A day before the girl’s father died, she attempted suicide in front of Adityanath’s residence to force the police to prosecute Sengar.

She said on Wednesday that she and her family had been placed under “house arrest” and told a social worker she met that Sengar had also sexually harassed other girls.

The Allahabad high court took cognisance of the case and asked the state government for a response. It said it will hear the case on Thursday and appointed senior advocate Gopal Swaroop Chaturvedi as an amicus curiae in the case to represent the girl.