Unnao rape: Cops refute foul play in key witness' death

The wife of a key witness in the Unnao rape case on Friday said that her husband died following prolonged illness, claimed the police.

A controversy broke after the witness, identified as Yunus, died on August 18 and was buried without informing the CBI which is investigating the case.

Yunus, 32, was the key witness in the attack on the rape 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.

Superintendent of Police, Unnao, Harish Kumar said, "The wife of the witness said in an application that her husband was suffering from a liver disease since 2012. And, almost a month ago, the doctors said that there are no chances of his survival."

Victim's uncle Mahesh Singh had approached the police claiming that the witness was murdered. The police on the contrary received a tip, according to which Singh bribed the witness' wife to sign certain documents in his favour.

"It's said in the application that the witness' wife was told by Mahesh Singh that she would be given Rs 8 lakh for signing a paper. We are investigating this. If the wife of the witness expresses any doubts or concern over anything, we'll definitely look into that," SP Kumar said.

For those unversed, in April this year, a woman alleged that she was raped by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his brother Atul Singh Sengar.

After the matter came into light, the victim's father was arrested by the police. He died in police custody. The post-mortem report mentioned serious injuries on his body

The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a charge-sheet against the BJP leader in July under Sections 120B, 363,366,376(1), 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO) Act.