Unnao rape case: Police exhumes CBI witness’ body for autopsy; 8 family members arrested for threatening to commit suicide

Unnao: As personnel from Makhi Police Station in Unnao exhumed the remains of Yunus Khan, the key CBI witness in the rape case involving Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the infamous case took another dramatic turn in Lucknow on Saturday. The Kin of the witness tried to take their lives in front of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s house when they were not allowed to meet him while protesting the digging out of Khan’s body from the grave. Hazratganj police detained eight family members. [caption id=“attachment_5046581” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Body of Yunus Khan, witness in Unnao rape case, was exhumed on Saturday. Vishal Singh.101Reporters.com[/caption] Khan had died under mysterious circumstances on 18 August. His brother Jaan Mohammad had said he had found him dead in the house where he lived alone in Makhi village on the morning of 18 August and buried him without having conducted an autopsy. Circle Officer, Safipur range, Vivek Ranjan Rai told mediapersons that the body was dug out on the orders of Unnao Superintendent of Police Harish Kumar who has ordered an inquiry into the death of Khan. It may be mentioned that the rape survivor’s uncle had in his complaint filed with Makhi police on 20 August alleged that MLA Sengar had gotten Yunus killed through his associates. The complainant also demanded the body be dug out so that an autopsy could be conducted. Yunus’s wife, Shabina, and other kin, however, claimed on Saturday that the deceased was suffering from a serious liver disease and had died naturally. [caption id=“attachment_5046591” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Kin protest the exhuming of Yunus Khan, CBI witness in Unnao rape case. Body of Yunus Khan, witness in Unnao rape case, was exhumed on Saturday. Vishal Singh.101Reporters.com[/caption] “Yunus’ liver was damaged and (he) was very serious since the last four years,” Shabina told media persons in Lucknow, adding that even his doctor had lost hope of his recovery. She also alleged that the rape survivor’s uncle had barged into her home a couple of days back and offered them money to lie to the police that Yunus was murdered. “He (rape survivor’s uncle) offered us money and also threatened when we refused his offer of lying. He was coaxing us to say that Yunus was murdered on the behest of Sengar by his associates in the village,” Shabina said. Yunus, 32, ran a grocery shop near the rape survivor’s house. BJP MLA Sengar and five of his associates, including brother Atul Singh Sengar were arrested in April in connection with the rape of the girl and brutally assaulting her father who died under judicial custody on 9 April. The rape survivor had tried to kill herself in front of the chief minister’s residence in Lucknow in April when her father was arrested. The author is a Lucknow-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters