'My father was murdered, I was raped, and now the accused has been granted bail' : Unnao Survivor

Unnao (UP): The survivor of the Unnao rape case on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction after the Delhi High Court suspended the jail term of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Sengar, questioning why security provided to her family, lawyers, and witnesses had been withdrawn.

I have young children. My elderly, disabled mother-in-law and husband are at home. The safety of my children is my biggest concern,' she told PTI.

Sengar, who is serving a life sentence for the 2017 rape case, had his jail term suspended by the Delhi High Court pending the hearing of his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence. The court imposed several conditions on him, including furnishing a personal bond of 15 lakh rupees with three sureties of like amount, staying at least five kilometres away from the victim’s residence in Delhi, and refraining from threatening the victim or her mother.

The expelled BJP leader had challenged the December 2019 trial court verdict in the case. He was convicted for kidnapping and raping the minor in 2017.

Reacting to the high court’s decision, the survivor said she was not satisfied. She alleged that her family had to make repeated trips to the court during the trial and questioned why security for her family, lawyers, and witnesses had been withdrawn.

'Typically, a verdict is pronounced within two or three days of concluding arguments. But in this case, the decision came after three months. Even before the verdict, security for my family and witnesses was withdrawn,' she said.

She added, 'In such a serious crime, where my father was murdered and I was raped, the accused is granted bail after serving only a few years in prison. What kind of justice is this?'

The survivor is currently in Delhi.

The high court has also directed Sengar to deposit his passport with the trial court and report to the local police station every Monday at 10 am. The rape case, along with other connected cases, was transferred from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi on the Supreme Court’s directions on August 1, 2019.