Shocking Scenes As Men From Central Force Manhandle Unnao Survivor's Mother

Shocking scenes played out on the roads of the national capital as paramilitary personnel blocked the Unnao rape survivor and her mother from addressing the media and also forced the elderly mother to jump off a moving bus. The survivor and her mother have been protesting against the Delhi High Court's relief to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who has been convicted of raping her.

The High Court has suspended the jail term of Sengar while imposing several conditions. The sentence has been suspended till his appeal against his conviction in the rape case is pending.

Last night, the survivor, her mother and lawyer-activist Yogita Bhayana staged a protest in India Gate and were detained. This morning, the mother-daughter had planned to speak to the media at Mandi House. But the CRPF-escorted bus they were in did not stop at Mandi House. A CRPF officer told NDTV that they had not been granted permission to protest at Mandi House or India Gate. They said the survivor and her mother would be taken to Jantar Mantar or back to their home.

Soon after, the survivor's mother was seen at the gate of the moving bus. CRPF officers were seen elbowing her and asking her to jump off the moving bus. Shockingly, there were no women CRPF personnel in the bus, even though it was transporting the survivor and her mother. After CRPF personnel kept pushing her, the survivor's mother jumped off the moving bus. The bus, the survivor inside it, drove away.

"We did not get justice. My daughter has been held captive. It seems they want to kill us. CRPF men took the girl and dropped me on the road. We will give up our lives. We were going to protest, but the CRPF men forcibly took her away. We were going to Mandi House to protest," she told the media.

The survivor, then 17, had been raped in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao in June 2017. The name of BJP MLA Sengar came up. He was expelled from the party. In 2019, he was convicted of raping a minor. He was also found guilty in connection with the custodial death of the survivor's father, who was initially framed in the sexual assault case.

The survivor, whose life was turned upside down ever since she raised her voice against the crime, told NDTV, "How can our judiciary do this to us?"

She highlighted that the court's relief to Sengar comes ahead of Uttar Pradesh polls and said she was determined to challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court. "An emergency hearing should be held. This Kuldeep Singh has the money and power to get his way, and we have to suffer."

A CRPF officer said they were taking the survivor back to their Delhi home, where they had been living under CRPF protection after a string of tragedies and threats over the past eight years.

Court Relief For Sengar

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday suspended Sengar's life imprisonment and granted him conditional bail pending his appeal against the 2019 conviction. The court reasoned that under the pre-2019 POCSO Act, an MLA does not qualify as a "public servant" or person in "position of trust", reducing the applicable minimum sentence to seven years - Sengar has already spent over seven years in jail.

Conditions for the relief include a Rs 15 lakh personal bond, staying only in Delhi, no entry within 5 km of the survivor's home, no contact or threats to the family, surrender of passport, and weekly police reporting. Sengar remains behind bars for a 10-year sentence for the custodial death of the survivor's father.

On December 23, the survivor, her mother and activist Bhayana protested at India Gate, expressed fear for their safety and vowed to fight on. "We will challenge the decision in the Supreme Court. We're fighting for justice for 9 years, and I lost my husband in the process. Police intimidate us, manhandle us. My family is not safe."