Unnao rape case handed over to CBI; FIR to be filed against BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar

The Unnao rape case, in which a BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his brothers are accused of gang raping a young woman in Unnao, lurched forward midnight Wednesday as the Uttar Pradesh government led by Yogi Adityanath decided to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In addition, an FIR will be filed against Sengar and others on the basis of a special probe team’s report submitted to the state government Wednesday. In Unnao, about 50 km from Lucknow, four-time BJP MLA Sengar and his brothers allegedly gang-raped an 18 year old who later attempted suicide outside Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence in Lucknow on Sunday, demanding justice. Sengar and accomplices are also accused in the custodial death of the victim’s father. A special investigation team (SIT) formed to probe the alleged rape and the victim’s father’s death reportedly found serious lapses by police and doctors in Unnao. Two doctors - D.K. Dwivedi and Prashant Upadhyay -have been suspended and disciplinary proceedings initiated against three other doctors “for laxity in giving proper medical care to the victim’s father, both prior to judicial custody and on referral from jail to the district hospital while in judicial custody”, according to an official statement, reports ANI. The victim’s father died of septicaemia in judicial custody on Tuesday; an autopsy revealed multiple injuries on his body. The Allahabad High Court will be taking up a Public Interest Litigation plea Thursday by senior advocate Gopal S. Chaturvedi pressing for a court-monitored probe of the Unnao rape case. [caption id=“attachment_4428001” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar. PTI[/caption] Late Wednesday night, Sengar, BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh’s Bangarmau district in Unnao, drove to a senior Lucknow city police officer's house along with a gang of supporters after reports surfaced that he may surrender. “Hum to ye pata lagaane aaye the ki kahin hamara naam kisi FIR me hai ya nahi (I just came to find out whether I was named in any FIR),” he said. Sengar showed up at the SSP’s office at around 11.40 pm.

WATCH: Scuffle between media persons and supporters of Unnao BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Senger outside SSP office in Lucknow. pic.twitter.com/jxJevmRmj4

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 11, 2018

Decisions of UP govt on Unnao rape case: FIR to be lodged under appropriate sections considering allegations of rape on Kuldeep Sengar&others. Case to be handed over to CBI for further investigation. 2 doctors & 1 CO to be suspended. Family of victim to be given adequate security pic.twitter.com/uKEQj6tNIn

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 11, 2018

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#BREAKING -- Unnao district judge has ordered a judicial inquiry into the custodial death of Surender Singh, father of Unnao rape survivor. #UnnaoHorror pic.twitter.com/iWEaiKNO6Q

— News18 (@CNNnews18) April 11, 2018

On Tuesday, Sengar’s brother Atul Singh and three others were arrested in connection with the case, a day after the rape victim’s father died in police custody. On the same day, the National Human Rights Commission issued notice to the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government over the custodial death of the Unnao rape victim’s father. Reports of Sengar’s likely surrender surfaced after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the rape case and the victim’s father’s death in custody submitted a preliminary report to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Wednesday evening. “The custodial killing of the father of a rape victim in Unnao is just the latest example of how governance gets brutalised when the state’s chief executive gives a carte blanche to the police to brand anybody a criminal and kill at will,” writes Ajay Singh on the perils of Yogi Adityanath's _thok denge_ statecraft.