Ex-BJP leader Kuldeep Sengar found guilty in Unnao rape case

Expelled BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar was on Monday found guilty by a Delhi court for raping a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district two years ago.

Delhi's Tis Hazari District Judge Dharmesh Sharma observed in the order that, "the CBI was able to prove the guilt of Kuldeep Singh Sengar beyond a reasonable doubt."

The co-accused Shashi Singh, who allegedly took the minor to Sengar, has been afforded the benefit of doubt and let out by the court.

Sengar, a four-time BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Bangarmau, had raped the girl at his residence in Unnao in June 2017, where she had gone seeking a job. He was arrested last year and is currently lodged in Tihar jail.

The court convicted him under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 5 (c) and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which pertains to penetrative sexual assault committed against a child by a public servant. Quantum of the sentence to Sengar will be pronounced tomorrow.

"The victims of sexual violence should come to the court and it will hear the case howsoever mighty the person is. Minimum sentence to Sengar would be ten years or life imprisonment," advocate Dharmendra Kumar Mishra told ANI.

The court also showed displeasure with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the delay in filing the charge sheet. The charge sheet filed by the CBI on October 3 had revealed that the girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped for nine days at different places by three persons when she was a minor in 2017.

A day-to-day hearing was conducted into the case after it was transferred from Uttar Pradesh to the national capital on the directions of the Supreme Court, earlier this year after the rape survivor's car met with an accident in which two of her aunts were killed.

The rape survivor and her lawyer had also sustained grievous injuries in the accident. The family had alleged foul play.

The girl was airlifted to Delhi's All Indian Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) following the car crash. A special court was held there to record her statement.

Another counsel representing the rape survivor, Poonam Kaushik, told ANI that the court has issued a notice in the accident case and the matter will be heard in January.