The BJP on Thursday finally decided to expel its rape-accused MLA, Kuldeep Sengar, but only after the Supreme Court took strong steps in the case that has brought considerable shame to India as a country. The saffron party’s decision to expel its rape accused MLA came at least one year after the Unnao rape victim and her family went public seeking justice. The court ordered the Yogi Adityanath government to pay Rs 25 lakh as compensation to the victim’s family as an interim measure.
Critics of the BJP have long been demanding the expulsion of Sengar from his party. Interestingly, BJP MP from Unnao, Sakshi Maharaj, had gone to meet Sengar in jail soon after winning this year’s Lok Sabha polls. Speaking to reporters, Maharaj had said, “He is lodged in the jail for a long time. Sengar is one of the most popular lawmakers so I came to thank him after the elections.”
But, many believe that the decision to throw Sengar out of the BJP came after the Supreme Court adopted a tough stand on the mysterious accident of the car carrying the Unnao rape victim on Sunday. The victim’s two aunts had died on the spot. One of her aunts was also a key witness in the rape case against Sengar. The truck that hit the victim’s car had its registration number smeared with black ink.
The victim and her lawyers are currently battling for life in a hospital in Lucknow.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the CBI to complete its investigation into the suspicious accident of the victim’s car within a week. The CBI’s lawyer and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asked for one month for the completion of the probe, but Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi refused. The Supreme Court bench later made an exception and said that the federal probe agency can take one extra week to complete the investigation but no additional time will be provided to the agency.
CJI Gogoi-led bench also ordered the airlifting of the victim and her lawyer from Lucknow’s King George Hospital to Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences for further treatment. The court also directed the transfer of all four cases related to the Unnao rape.
While the first case against Sengar is of rape, the second alleges that the sacked BJP MLA gang-raped her with his associates. This, the rape victim alleged, was a week after Sengar committed his first crime.
The top court, according to ANI, said, “Taking into account the ground stated in transfer petition, and letter to the CJI, we order the transfer of all the cases from the CBI court in UP to Delhi.”
The Supreme Court said that a designated judge in Delhi ‘will commence the trial on a day-to-day basis and complete the trial within 45 days.
The court also directs the Uttar Pradesh government to pay Rs 25 lakh to the victim’s family as part of interim compensation adding that the government must immediately also provide security cover to every member of the victim’s family and their lawyer.