The 17-year-old girl who has accused Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar of raping her in June 2017 has said that she had not only approached Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath for help, but also the president, prime minister and the state’s top police officers. However no action was taken, she told The Indian Express in an interview published on Friday.
“On August 17, 2017, my uncle and I went to Lucknow and submitted an application to Chief Minister Adityanath at his residence,” the girl said. “He gave it to some others standing with him but nothing happened. Neither me nor my father could come back to the village.”
She said she wrote to the president, the prime minister and the UP director-general of police, seeking help when nothing happened even after meeting the chief minister personally. “But nothing happened, I was instead advised by policemen to leave the MLA out of it,” said the girl.
Sengar allegedly raped her when she went to his house looking for work. It took 10 months, an immolation attempt by the survivor and her family, the death of her father in judicial custody, and public outrage before an FIR was finally registered against the politician. Sengar was detained by the police for questioning only on Thursday night.
When she found out that her father had been beaten up last week, she decided to go back to Lucknow and protest, she told the daily. “Those at the gate said he [Adityanath] was not there. We requested to meet his subordinates but they refused,” she said. “I felt that I was the cause of all the trouble for the entire family and had brought kerosene with me. I took it out and poured it on myself. But instead of me, my father was killed.”
Her father, who was in judicial custody since April 4 after he got into a fight with the MLA’s brother Atul Sengar, died on Monday. His postmortem listed multiple abrasions near the abdomen, buttocks, thighs, above and below knee joints and arms – indicating that his death may have been caused by a physical assault. The cause of death was listed as “septicaemia” and “perforation of colon”. Atul Sengar and four others have been arrested for his death.
Despite the delay in justice, the teenager said she will continue her fight. “He [Sengar] had told me that if I confide in anyone, he would finish my papa and family,” she told The Indian Express. “He has done it and is now, moving around with a smile. I will give up my life, I won’t go back… but I won’t stop fighting. What happens with an FIR? They should all be arrested.”
The girl also said that her family and Sengar’s had “cordial relations” initially, so much so that she used to address the MLA as “bhaiyya” or elder brother. Their houses were opposite each other’s in Makhi village, and the MLA would some times even eat at her house, she said.
On June 4, 2017, she went with a relative to Sengar’s house looking for a job opportunity. “I was asked to go inside a room, where he raped me. Later, I was told that my father and family would be killed if I opened my mouth,” she said. “I did not speak about it to anyone until I was kidnapped by some of his people a few days later, on June 11. They gangraped me for a few days and sold me to someone from whom I was recovered.”
After this, her family sent her to New Delhi, where she spoke about her painful experience for the first time, she said.
By Wednesday, the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court had taken note of the incident and the lack of action against the accused. At a hearing on Thursday, the High Court pulled up the state government for not arresting the MLA.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!