Unnao rape, murder case: Survivor’s kin allege foul play in key witness’s death, cops refute charge

The Unnao gang rape and murder case has taken a new twist, with the key witness in the attack on the minor gang rape survivor’s father dying at his Unnao residence on August 18. The survivor’s uncle alleged foul play but the police claimed that the family said he died of illness.

The survivor’s uncle said the deceased Mohammed Yunus, 32, was the key witness in the attack on the survivor’s father who later succumbed to his injuries in judicial custody when he was sent to jail by local police after being allegedly framed in a fake case of possessing illegal firearm.

The rape survivor’s father was allegedly assaulted by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s brother Atul and his aides after which he was allegedly framed in a false case by the Makhi police on April 3. He was not provided proper treatment and was sent to jail where his condition deteriorated. He succumbed to injuries in judicial custody on April 9.

The CBI took over the case on April 12 and registered four separate FIRs related to gang rape and murder in the matter. So far, 10 people, including the BJP MLA, his brother and two policemen of Makhi station have been arrested by the CBI in these cases and all are in jail at present

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who is in Germany, took to Twitter and cited reports that the witness “died under mysterious circumstances” and was “buried hurriedly without getting his post-mortem done”.

“The mysterious death & hurried burial without an autopsy, of the key witness in the #Unnao rape & murder case, involving BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar, smells of a conspiracy. Is this your idea of “justice for our daughters”, Mr 56?,” Gandhi wrote in comments while re-tweeting the story.

The survivor’s uncle said Yunus had a small grocery shop at the same intersection in Makhi where the survivor’s father was allegedly attacked by the MLA’s brother and his aides on April 3, 2018. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had recorded Yunus’s statement and made him key witness in the case against the MLA and his aides.

The survivor’s uncle said Yunus’s brother Jaan Mohammed had given a written application to conduct the post-mortem examination of the body following suspicion about his death. Yunus was buried hurriedly on the same day and no autopsy was conducted, he said, demanding that the body be exhumed and autopsy be conducted.

However, Sabina Khatoon, wife of the deceased, said he was suffering from a liver ailment for past many months and had undergone treatment at many places in Kanpur and Unnao . She said her husband died of his liver disease.

SP Unnao Harish Kumar said the police inquiry was conducted on the complaint of the survivor’s uncle but the Yunus’s wife had given in writing that her husband died due to liver ailment at his residence , in the presence of several family members, on the morning of August 18 and she did not suspect foul play.

Earlier, the CBI had filed a charge sheet against the BJP MLA, his brother, three policemen and five other associates for alleged criminal conspiracy to frame Unnao rape victim’s father in a fake case. The CBI had also filed a separate charge sheet against the same people, excluding the police personnel, in connection with the murder of the rape survivor’s father.

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First Published: Aug 24, 2018 09:54 IST