The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on October 11 filed a charge sheet against expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, his associates and the driver of a truck that collided with a car, seriously injuring the Unnao rape survivor in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli on July 28.
The rape survivor’s two aunts were killed in the incident, while the woman and her lawyer sustained grievous injuries. The woman had been allegedly raped by Sengar in 2017 when she was a minor.
“The chargesheet [in the accident case] has been filed before a Lucknow court, against all those named in the FIR,” said a CBI official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “The case will be transferred to a special court in Delhi for hearing,” the official added. The agency has not invoked murder charge against any of the accused. It was one of the provisions under which the FIR was registered on July 30.
The CBI has charged Mr. Sengar, his brother Manoj and associates of offences under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 506 (2), which pertains to criminal intimidation, of the Indian Penal Code.
Truck driver Ashish Kumar Pal has been charged under Sections 304-A (causing death by negligence), 338 (causing grievous hurt) and 279 (rash driving) of the IPC. Among those named in the FIR were Mr. Sengar, his brother Manoj, Vinod Mishra, Hari Pal Singh, Navin Singh, Komal Singh, Arun Singh, Gyanendra Singh, Rinku Singh and Awadhesh Singh.
After the truck-car collision, the rape survivor was first admitted to a Lucknow hospital, from where she was shifted to the trauma centre of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.
While the survivor was recently discharged from the hospital, her lawyer is still too serious to record his statement.
On September 25, the Supreme Court gave the CBI two more weeks to complete the probe .
After the case was transferred on a reference from the State government, the CBI had sent a team comprising forensic experts to examine the scene of alleged crime. Statements of the victim and some witnesses were also recorded.
On the special court’s direction, in view of the threat perception, arrangements are being made in Delhi for the rape survivor and her family members to stay in the city. The CBI has also filed charge sheets in connection with the other related cases, which include the alleged murder of her father in judicial custody last year.
