CBI arrests Unnao rape accused MLA

Hours after the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered the arrest of BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is accused in the rape of a 17-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested him late in the evening.

Earlier in the day, the High Court directed the probe agency to arrest the lawmaker, saying that mere detention was not enough.

The Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale and Justice Suneet Kumar, passed this order when it was informed that the said MLA was detained but has not been arrested yet. The High Court also asked the CBI to submit the status of the investigation on May 2.

The CBI, for its part, picked up Sengar, who is MLA from Bangarmau in Unnao, from his residence in Lucknow on Friday morning. Before arresting him, the CBI questioned the MLA for 15 hours. The premier investigation agency also recorded the statements of the victim and her family separately in Unnao and called them to Lucknow on Saturday for further investigation. The CBI has filed three cases in this connection

involving the BJP MLA, a woman Shashi Singh and several other persons.

In a related development, Medical Superintendent and Casualty officer at Unnao District Hospital was suspended and a departmental enquiry was initiated against three other doctors.

Sources said that a CBI team along with the UP Police picked up Sengar from an Indiranagar residence of his kin around 4.30 am on Friday when he was about to leave for Varanasi.

Adityanath, who is facing severe flak over the delay in action against BJP MLA, on Friday said his Government has not deviated from its zero-tolerance policy on crime and will firmly deal with criminals, no matter how influential they might be. Meanwhile, the Centre is not happy with UP DGP OP Singh handling the Unnao rape case.

Sengar, a four term MLA, enjoys immense clout cutting across party lines in the rural areas around Unnao district, a semi-urban area about 70 km from Lucknow.

The CBI officials said the first FIR pertains to the alleged rape of the girl in which Sengar and a woman Shashi Singh have been named as accused. The first case has been registered after taking over the investigation of case crime no. 96 of 2018 earlier registered at Police Station Makhi, in Unnao district, under Section 363 (kidnapping), Section 366 (abduction of woman), Section 376 (rape), Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, on a complaint against a private person and an MLA, both residents of Village Makhi, Unnao.

The second one pertains to rioting, in which four locals have been booked, and also the alleged killing of the victim’s father in judicial custody. Since the murder charge was added later by the police, it does not reflect in the CBI FIR.

The third case pertains to the allegations against the victim’s father who was arrested under arms act and put in jail by the local police where he mysteriously died. He also suffered serious wounds as per the post- mortem report.

The agency, which was referred the matter only on Thursday, took immediate action by re-registering the UP Police FIRs and brought the four-time MLA to its Lucknow office for questioning, they said.

They said a team of officials would visit the scene of crime and question jail officials, police officials and family members of the MLA.

The victim has alleged that she was raped by the MLA at his residence on June 4, 2017 where she had gone with a relative seeking a job. In February, the girl’s family moved court seeking to include the MLA’s name in the rape case. After filing of the case, the victim’s father was booked by the police under the arms Act on April 3 this year and put in jail on April 5. Frustrated with the alleged inaction and coercion from powerful people, the victim attempted self-immolation in front of Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath’s residence on April 8 which made headlines.

The next day, her father died in jail with post- mortem suggesting serious injuries on his body. Faced with the embarrassment of its own MLA allegedly being involved in the rape case, the State Government had referred the matter to the CBI -- a day before Allahabad High Court was to pronounce its order on probe into the case by the central agency.