The Delhi Police on Saturday detained Congress leader Mumtaz Patel and several other protesters who were staging a sit-in near the Parliament complex to oppose a Delhi High Court order suspending the life sentence of former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case involving a minor, PTI reported.
The protesters reached the area around 4 pm, sat on the road, chanted slogans and demanded the cancellation of the bail granted to Sengar by the Delhi High Court on December 23, the news agency reported.
Police officials announced through loudspeakers that the area near Parliament was not a designated site for protests and asked the demonstrators to disperse. When they refused to vacate the spot, they were removed and detained, PTI quoted unidentified officials as saying.
The detentions came a day after the complainant’s mother, along with others, staged a protest outside the Delhi High Court against the order.
On December 23, the Delhi High Court granted Sengar bail while the former MLA’s appeal against conviction is being heard. However, the former MLA from Uttar Pradesh was directed not to travel within a five-km radius of the complainant’s home.
Sengar will, however, remain in jail as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in connection with the custodial death of the complainant’s father and has not been granted bail in the case.
Complaint against investigating officer
The complainant has approached the Central Bureau of Investigation, seeking that a first information report be registered against the then investigating officer, alleging that the officer was working in collusion with Sengar, PTI reported on Saturday.
She alleged that the officer conducted the investigation dishonestly and in such a manner that the former MLA and other persons accused in the case may get the benefits of “deliberate lapses and manipulation of fact introduced, and secure a favourable outcome”.
She also claimed that several statements were falsely attributed to her in the chargesheet, the news agency reported.
On Friday, the Central Bureau of Investigation moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court order.
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