CBI files chargesheet in Unnao case: Agency accuses five, including brother of Kuldeep Singh Sengar, of killing rape survivor's father

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday filed its first chargesheet in the case of the murder of a rape survivor’s father in Unnao. The agency has filed chargesheet against Jai Deep Singh alias Atul Singh Sengar, a brother of BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, and his accomplices Vineet Mishra alias Vinay Mishra; Birendra Singh alias Bauwa, Ram Sharan Singh alias Sonu Singh and Shashi Pratap Singh alias Suman Singh, all residents of Makhi village in Unnao District of the state.  The agency has charged the accused of murder and other related offences, a CBI spokesperson told PTI. The MLA is also an accused in the rape case. He is currently lodged in the Sitapur jail after the survivor petitioned and requested that he be moved from the local Unnao jail. During the investigation, all the accused named in the FIR were arrested and they are presently in judicial custody, the spokesperson said. “Further investigation, in this case, to look into the roles of others including an MLA, officials is continuing,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_4431955” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of rape accused MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar being taken from the CBI court in Lucknow. PTI[/caption] Taking the charge sheet on record, Special Judicial Magistrate (CBI) Sapna Tripathi in Lucknow fixed a hearing on 11 July for the purpose of taking cognisance of the offences mentioned in the chargesheet. The judge also directed for the release of Shailendra Singh alias Shailu from jail, as the CBI has exonerated him from the case. In the chargesheet, CBI investigator Anil Kumar charged the accused persons under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including murder. The CBI mentioned names of 76 witnesses and 53 documentary evidence in its 19-page charge sheet. The CBI had registered the FIR in this case on April 12. The case came to light in April this year, when an 18-year-old attempted suicide outside Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence in Lucknow, claiming inaction in the rape case that took place in 2017. Two days after the incident, the survivor’s father lost his life in police custody. The man was allegedly beaten up by Sengar and his accomplices, for trying to pursue the case. Further, the district police officers arrested the man and failed to provide him proper medical care, both prior to custody and on referral from jail to the district hospital while in judicial custody. The victim’s father died of septicaemia in judicial custody on 10 April; an autopsy revealed multiple injuries on his body. Earlier, the Allahabad High Court had rejected the bail plea of Sengar. The CBI had registered four cases in the matter, following a request to the central government from the Uttar Pradesh government, after the survivor expressed doubts over the role of the local police. In the first FIR, the CBI named Sengar and Shashi Singh, a woman who allegedly took the rape victim to the Bharatiya Janata Party leader’s house. The CBI had arrested the BJP MLA after day-long questioning on 14 April. The second FIR is against four of Sengar’s accomplices — Vineet, Baua, Shailu and Sonu — on charges of rioting, criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt. The third one is a cross FIR filed by Atul Sengar, who claimed that he was attacked by the victim’s father. The CBI registered the fourth case against Shashi Singh’s son Shubham for aiding in the crime. The woman had alleged that she was raped in June 2017 by Sengar and his brothers. She also accused the police in Unnao of not taking any action or registering a case on her complaint. The survivor further alleged that she was abducted by three village boys: Shubhan Singh, son of Shashi and Harpal Singh, his driver Naresh Tiwari and Brijesh Yadav. She said she would have been ‘sold’ for a large amount of money but for the fact that her mother filed a complaint which was registered on 20 June, 2017. The girl was recovered the next day and on the basis of her statement she gave on 22 June that she had been raped, all three boys: Shubham Singh, Naresh Tewari and Brijesh Yadav were arrested. The survivor alleges the police at the Makhi station refused to file an FIR against Sengar, who is feared in this area. With inputs from agencies