SENGAR DISCHARGED FROM UNNAO RAPE ACCIDENT CASE - DELHI COURT

A Delhi court discharged Kuldeep Singh Sengar, Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA, who was earlier convicted in the Unnao rape case, was recently accused of masterminding a road accident of the survivor of the Unnao Rape case. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey found no prima facie evidence on record against Sengar for the accident in which a truck hit the vehicle carrying the survivor.

In December 2019, the Principal District and Sessions Judge at the Tis Hazari Court convicted Sengar in the Unnao rape case and sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his life along with a fine of ₹25 lakh.

The accident occurred on July 28, 2019, when a truck hit the vehicle in which the rape survivor was present, along with her counsel and two aunts traveling to Raebareli. Her aunts were killed on the spot, and the survivor and her counsel sustained grievous injuries. The UP police filed murder charges against Kuldeep Singh and nine others. 

The CBI investigated and held that there is no existence of evidence regarding criminal conspiracy between those named in the FIR and Sengar. As the charges were triable by a Magisterial Court, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate took up the case. The Court found no connection between the accused persons in the accident case. It held that there is only the oral statement of the complainants of the family members as evidence regarding the criminal conspiracy. The Court found no prima facie case against Kuldeep Singh and five others. However, a prima facie case was found against the driver u/s 304-A 338 read with Section 279 of IPC.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal