Kuldeep Sengar convicted in death of Unnao rape victim's father

A Delhi court Wednesday convicted expelled Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and seven others of culpable homicide, not amounting to murder, of the Unnao rape victim's father who had died in judicial custody.

District judge Dharmesh Sharma also said the facts and circumstances brought on the record prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused hatched another crucial part of the conspiracy to foist a false case upon the victim by planting a country made gun and four cartridges.

The court said the accused had no intention of killing him.

"However, they beat up the victim in a brutal manner that led to his death."

The judge said it is of common knowledge that 'when police hit, they hit in a brutal manner'.

He added that the 'doctors at the district hospital were negligent and acted like butchers'.

The court said the accused -- Ashok Singh Bhadauria, K P Singh, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, Vineet Mishra, Birendra Singh, Shashi Pratap Singh, Suman Singh and Atul (Sengar's brother) -- are held guilty of committing offence under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy).

The other sections read with it are 166 (public servant disobeying law to cause injury to a person), 167 (public servant framing incorrect document to cause injury), 193 (false evidence), 201 (disappearance of evidence), 211 (false charge of offence made with intent to injure), 218 (public servant framing incorrect record to save person from punishment), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

The court also held the convicted the accused under a section of Arms Act.

While convicting Makhi police station in-charge, Ashok Singh Bhadauria, and Sub Inspector, K P Singh, the court said that 'being seasoned police officials, disobeyed the direction of law to protect the life and liberty of the victim when he as well as Kishore Kumar Mishra were being beaten up by the co-accused persons and allowed unlawful restraint being applied by co-accused persons upon victim Surendra Singh, having knowledge or reasons to believe that it might result in death of the victim and ultimately the victim died due to the injuries sustained in the incident...

"They allowed the assailants their protective police cover affording them a free hand to do what they did".

The court, however, acquitted other accused persons -- constable Amir Khan, Shailendra Singh, Ram Sharan Singh and Sharadveer Singh -- giving them benefit of doubt.

The court said, "It is apparent that too many persons behind the curtains were supporting, assisting or abetting the gruesome act but then each one cannot be held culpable as per law on mere suspicion."

It had on December 20 sent Sengar to jail for the 'remainder of his natural biological life' for raping the woman in 2017, when she was a minor.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had examined 55 witnesses in support of the case and the defence examined nine witnesses.

The court had recorded the statements of the rape victim's uncle, mother, sister and one of her father's colleague who claimed to be an eyewitness to the incident.

According to the CBI, on April 3, 2018, there was an altercation between the rape victim's father and one Shashi Pratap Singh.

The charge sheet filed on July 13, 2018, said the victim's father and his co-worker were returning to their village, Makhi, when they asked Singh for a lift.

Singh denied them the lift, triggering an altercation among them.

Singh called his associates, following which Kuldeep's brother Atul Singh Sengar reached the spot along with others and beat up the woman's father and his co-worker.

The woman's father was subsequently taken to the police station by them where an first information report was lodged against him and he was arrested.

The charge sheet said that all this while Kuldeep Sengar was in touch with the district police superintendent and Makhi police station in-charge Ashok Singh Bhadauria. Later he also spoke to the doctor who examined the rape victim's father.

Charges were framed against Kuldeep, Atul, Bhadauria, sub-inspector Kamta Prasad, constable Amir Khan and six others in the case.

The case was transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the directions of the Supreme Court on August 1 last year.

In July, 2019 a truck rammed into the car the rape victim was travelling in with some family members and her lawyer. Two of her aunts died in the incident. She was airlifted from a hospital in Lucknow and to All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi.

The victim has been provided accommodation in Delhi and is under Central Reserve Police Force protection.