Unnao rape case: BJP claims party suspended Kuldeep Singh Sengar in April 2018, but no mention of it in media reports

BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, one of the ten accused who was named in the FIR registered in connection with a road accident in which the Unnao rape survivor was critically injured in Raebareli, is currently suspended from the party, its Uttar Pradesh BJP chief said. Swatantra Dev Singh said that Sengar will stay suspended from the party till the CBI inquiry to the case was completed.

UP BJP Chief Swatantra Dev Singh on Unnao rape case accused Kuldeep Singh Sengar: He was suspended from the party and will stay suspended. CBI inquiry in the case is underway. pic.twitter.com/QxZrCygM7E

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) July 30, 2019

Claiming that the Yogi Adityanath-led government is “completely standing” with the Unnao rape survivor and her family, Singh assured that proper treatment was offered to the persons injured in the accident by the state government. Singh also said that “qualified doctors have been assigned to the case and the government is on the side of the victim.” When asked about Sengar’s suspension, Singh said, “Kuldeep Singh has already been suspended. The former party president will confirm it too. BJP will never side with a criminal and for a fair investigation, we have handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.” Party spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said, “We had not issued any press release then, but I am officially stating this now when you have asked me.” Media reports at that time had only reported about the withdrawal of Y-level security to Sengar. For instance, Amar Ujala had termed the move as a “big setback” to the MLA. In fact, in July 2018, a report in Navbharat Times had quoted BJP leader Mahendra Nath Pandey as saying that if Sengar is found guilty, strict action would be taken against him. This would indicate that no “strict action” had been taken against him till that time. According to several recent reports, Sengar was suspended from the saffron party in April, 2018, when the controversy around the Unnao rape case first broke out, with the survivor accusing Sengar of rape, even though no media house had reported it. [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] Tripathi on Tuesday also added that strict action will be taken against Sengar if he was found guilty. “I want to make it clear that no undue favour will be granted to anyone in the regime of Bharatiya Janata Party. If anyone is found guilty, strict action will be taken. The case is sub-judice and everyone wants to know the truth,” Tripathi told News18. Follow LIVE updates on Unnao Rape case here On Monday, Police had registered a murder case against Sengar , his brother Manoj Singh Sengar and eight others in connection with the road accident in which the Unnao rape survivor and her lawyer were seriously injured, while two of her aunts were killed. “FIR has been registered under the Indian Penal Code’s sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), 120b (criminal conspiracy) against 10 named persons, including the BJP MLA, and 15-20 others,” a police officer said. A BJP MLA from Bangarmau in Unnao, Kuldeep Sengar is the prime accused in the rape case of the minor girl and was arrested by the CBI in April, 2018. The girl was allegedly raped by Sengar at his Unnao residence on 4 June, 2017, where she had gone with the purpose of seeking a job. When the kin of the survivor registered a complaint, her father was booked by the police under the Arms Act on 3 April, 2018 , and put in jail after two days. He later passed away in the hospital. The postmortem report accessed by Firstpost also mentioned that survivor’s father had swelling on his arm and there were stitches on one of his eyebrows. The accident which took place on Sunday when the survivor was on her way to Raebareli from Unnao, sparked outrage, with many wondering if the accident was staged. The vehicle in which the survivor, her two aunts and her lawyer were travelling collided with a truck. While two of the survivor’s aunts succumbed after the accident, she and her lawyer are grievously injured and are currently undergoing treatment in a hospital in Lucknow. With inputs from agencies