The 2017 Unnao rape case made headlines this week after the rapist, Kuldeep Singh Sengar – then an Uttar Pradesh MLA with the Bharatiya Janata Party – had his life term suspended by the Delhi High Court and was granted bail pending an appeal against the lower court's verdict.
Sengar, however, will remain in Jail; he is concurrently serving a 10-year sentence after he was found guilty of culpable homicide and criminal conspiracy in the death of the survivor's father.
Sengar's release has been widely condemned while shocking scenes from Delhi – where the survivor and her mother were bullied and intimidated by central security forces while trying to protest – have added to the tension and anger that has erupted over the past 72 hours.
His release led to clashes in Delhi Tuesday and Wednesday between central forces tasked with 'guarding' the survivor and members of her family, including frightening visuals of her mother seemingly forced to jump from a moving bus that then drove off with her daughter on board.
Speaking to reporters after the outrageous incident, the mother broke down and said, "We did not get justice. My daughter has been held captive. It seems they want to kill us."
RECAP | Shock As Men From Central Force Manhandle Unnao Survivor's Mother
A CRPF officer later claimed the survivor was being 'escorted' back home, though no formal statement has been made on the mother being removed from the bus.
Meanwhile, the CBI – the investigative and prosecuting agency in the case – has approached the Supreme Court over the High Court's release order, but its delayed and, many have argued, lukewarm response was today called out by the AAP, the main opposition in the national capital.
The agency's intervention at this stage, though, has done little to demonstrate any urgency in ensuring justice for a woman was raped and whose father's death – in police custody – was also linked to Kuldeep Sengar. "I am hurt that such a judgment was passed…" she said and claimed the investigating officer in the case had secretly met with the now-expelled BJP MLA.
RECAP | Unnao Rape Survivor Dissatisfied With Kuldeep Sengar's Suspended Jail Term
She too has vowed to approach the Supreme Court. "I am hoping to get justice…" she cried.
'Remember Kejriwal?' AAP asked
AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj criticised the CBI for allowing Sengar to be release without pre-emptive challenges. He pointed out the Enforcement Directorate – also a federal investigative agency – acted much quicker when blocking party boss Arvind Kejriwal's release from jail.
"Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail inside the court. It usually takes two or three hours for a written order to be issued but the ED, without waiting, verbally requested his bail be stayed and the court granted it. So, in this matter, couldn't the CBI have done the same?" Bhardwaj asked.
"This BJP government will put all its effort into getting Senger released!"
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi also hit out at the BJP over Sengar's release and the horrid treatment meted out to the Unnao rape survivor and her mother.
RECAP | Rahul Gandhi's "Dead Society" Remark After Unnao Survivor's Mother Manhandled
"Is such treatment of a gang rape victim justified?" he raged on X. "Is her 'fault' that she dared to raise her voice for justice? It is extremely disappointing and shameful that her perpetrator (a former BJP MLA) was granted bail - especially when the victim is being repeatedly harassed and living in fear. Bail for rapists, and the victims treated like criminals - what kind of justice is this?"
The survivor, meanwhile, spoke to NDTV and expressed her anger and frustration. She also said 'security' provided to her family and legal team had been withdrawn. "My elderly, disabled mother-in-law, and husband are at home. The safety of my children is the biggest concern."
She also met Gandhi and has expressed a wish to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kuldeep Sengar's bail order
The Delhi High Court reasoned that Sengar's status at the time – an MLA – did not justify the trial court considering him a 'public servant' as defined under the (then-active) Indian Penal Code.
The bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan declared that meant the stringent anti-child sexual offences law, POCSO, could not be applied in this case.
RECAP | Unnao Rape Case: Ex-BJP Leader Kuldeep Sengar's Jail Term Suspended
Under POCSO Section 5, sexual assault by an authority figure draws a 20-year jail term.
But, having dismissed Sengar as a 'public servant', the court declared the seven-and-a-half years he had spent in jail so far is "more than minimum number" prescribed by law in this case.
As a result Kuldeep Sengar was released on conditional bail; the conditions include a Rs 15 lakh personal bond, a promise not to leave Delhi or come within five kilometres of the survivor.
With input from agencies
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