UNNAO RAPE | Survivor questions CBI’s credibility as agency moves SC against Sengar’s bail

LUCKNOW: Even as the Central Bureau of Investigation has approached the Supreme Court to challenge the bail granted to former Uttar Pradesh legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the Unnao rape survivor and her mother on Saturday publicly expressed serious mistrust in the agency, accusing it of failing to stand firmly with them at critical stages of the case. The survivor’s mother said faith in the CBI would be possible only if the agency directly engaged with the family. She questioned the conduct of the investigation and recalled an incident in court where she alleged the investigating officer was seen speaking to Sengar’s daughter and later claimed in open court that he did not know the survivor. The survivor alleged the CBI did not support her lawyer when it mattered the most and said that had the agency stood decisively with the prosecution, the situation would have been different.

Describing her family’s plight, the survivor said while others were celebrating, her family had been completely shattered. She said her father was killed, she and her husband lost their jobs, and the family was left without any source of income, adding that she now has two newborn children and is struggling to make ends meet. Raising questions over the justice system, she alleged that one family was intimidated while another was given relief. On Friday, the CBI filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court order dated December 23 that suspended Sengar’s life sentence and granted him bail pending appeal. Sengar was convicted in December 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs 25 lakh, though he will remain in jail as he is serving a separate 10-year sentence in another CBI case related to murder. The High Court’s decision has triggered sharp political and social reactions, with the survivor’s family and Opposition parties demanding immediate Supreme Court intervention.