A court in Delhi on Friday framed charges against Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his accomplice Shashi Singh for allegedly raping a teenager in Unnao in 2017, PTI reported.
District Judge Dharmesh Sharma framed charges against Singh for allegedly kidnapping the woman, who is currently admitted in All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi. The woman continues to be critical and is on advanced life support systems, IANS reported. Sengar is also accused of plotting the car crash involving the 19-year-old complainant in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli district on July 28. The teenager’s two aunts, one of whom was a key witness in the case, were killed. The lawyer who was also injured in the accident is critical and unconscious.
The court has framed charges under Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 363 (kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping or inducing a woman to compel for marriage), 376 (rape) and other relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The Central Bureau of Investigation told the court that Uttar Pradesh Police had been lax while investigating the 2017 rape case. In its chargesheet, the agency said it was also looking into the roles of district administration officials and medical hospitals in Unnao.
“During investigation, action taken by local police on several complaints on the incidents were also collected which showed lackadaisical approach of local thana police and supervisory police officers,” PTI reported, quoting the chargesheet. The investigation agency further said that inquiries were being carried out in the matter.
On Thursday, the CBI had told the court that Sengar and his brother assaulted the father of the woman who has accused him of rape. The agency said the legislator, along with eight others, including three state police officials, framed him in an Arms Act case. The complainant’s father died in judicial custody on April 9, 2018.
On Wednesday, the counsel for Sengar had told the court that the complainant was not a minor at the time of the alleged incident. They had argued that since the complainant was an adult at the time, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was not applicable and school documents and the complainant’s medical report proved it.
The CBI had last week taken over the cases connected with the Unnao rape after much criticism. The Supreme Court had also transferred five cases related to the complainant to a court in Delhi.
Sengar has been in jail since April 2018 in connection with the rape case. He was expelled from the BJP only on August 1. The CBI had booked Sengar, nine others and other unidentified persons for murder.
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