Unnao Rape case: CBI says survivor kidnapped, sexually assaulted for nine days by three people at different places in 2017

New Delhi: The Unnao rape survivor was allegedly kidnapped and raped for nine days at different places by three people in 2017 when she was a minor, the CBI told a Delhi court on Friday. The case is different from the alleged sexual assault of the woman by expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in 2017. [caption id=“attachment_5182361” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] A lawyer who is involved in the case said District Judge Dharmesh Sharma, during in-camera proceedings, took cognisance of a charge sheet filed by the CBI in the gangrape case and put up the matter for further hearing on 15 October. In its charge sheet, the probe agency has named three people- Naresh Tiwari, Brijesh Yadav and Shubham Singh- as accused for the offences under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 363 (kidnapping), 366 (abducting or inducing woman to compel her for marriage), 376 D (sexual assault by more than one person) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 3 and 4 (penetrative sexual assault and punishment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The maximum punishment for the offences is life imprisonment. Quoting the rape survivor’s statement recorded before a judicial magistrate in Unnao, the CBI said on 11 June, 2017, she had come out of her house to fetch water at night when Singh and Tiwari, along with three others, pulled her inside a car. After covering some distance, Singh and Tiwari allegedly raped her in the car, according to the charge sheet. She was taken to a house on the way to Kanpur where two unknown persons, with muffled faces, allegedly raped her, it said. After two-three days, she was taken to the Yadav’s house, where he allegedly raped her. Then two days later, she was taken to Auraiya district in Uttar Pradesh from where she was recovered by police, the charge sheet said. During the probe, the CBI found that the rape survivor was kidnapped on 12 June instead of 11 June as Singh and Tiwari were not at that location on 11 June. Though the woman had denied using any mobile phone given by Tiwari to her, the investigation revealed that she had used the cell phone, the charge sheet said. On being questioned further regarding the three other accused persons, the woman said she had taken those names under threat given by unknown advocate Manoj Sengar, it said. The CBI said further investigation is going on in the case regarding the role of other accused persons. The agency has named 103 witnesses to be examined in the case which has been transferred to the national capital on the orders of the Supreme Court.