Unnao rape case: Protesting survivor and mother manhandled, prevented from speaking to media

NEW DELHI: CRPF personnel blocked the survivor and her mother who were protesting against the High Court verdict that stayed the imprisonment of the Unnao rape case accused. The Delhi High Court has stayed the imprisonment of BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar. After the verdict was delivered on Tuesday, activist-lawyer Yogita Bhayana along with the survivor and her mother protested in front of India Gate.

They were taken into custody by CRPF personnel and were not allowed to speak to the media. The CRPF personnel forcibly took the survivor and her mother into the bus. National media reports that there were no female officers on the bus. There are also reports that the officers elbowed the survivor's mother.

The High Court had stayed the trial court's verdict in December 2019 that had sentenced Sengar to life imprisonment. The court had granted him bail with strict conditions. The decision was taken by a division bench comprising Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar. The decision was taken after considering a petition filed by Sengar citing health reasons among others. The order has mandated Sengar to remain in Delhi and not to go within five kilometers of the place where the survivor lives.

The family has decided to approach the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict. Sengar, who is currently serving a 10-year jail term in the case of killing the girl's father in police custody, remains in jail.