Kuldeep Sengar, others conspired to silence Unnao rape survivor's father, says Court

Expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar along with his aides entered into a "criminal conspiracy" to deter and silence the Unnao rape survivor's father so that he cannot pursue with his complaint, a Delhi court Tuesday said while framing murder and other charges against them.

District Judge Dharmesh Sharma clubbed two cases related to the alleged murder of the rape survivor's father and the other related to allegedly framing him in a case of possession of illegal arms.

The court charged Sengar and nine others for the offences punishable under sections 302 (murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), 341 (wrongful restraint), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 193 (false evidence) of the IPC and under section 25 of the Arms Act.

"You (Sengar) and others allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with the other accused persons to deter, intimidate or silence the father of the survivor from proceeding with his complaint of alleged rape upon the survivor by you on June 6, 2016 at your house and in the process, the father of the prosecutrix, his wife, mother and two daughters were voluntarily caused injuries....at the hands of co-accused, after preventing them from proceeding to their house," the court noted.

The charges framed against them also included sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 166 (public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person) and 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury) of IPC.

The court also cancelled the bail of three UP police officials -- the then Makhi police station's in-charge Ashok Singh Bhadauria, Sub Inspector Kamta Prasad and Constable Amir Khan -- accused in the case, and sent them into custody after the charge of murder was framed against them.

The court also framed charges under sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 218 (public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture) and 466 (forgery of record of court or of public register) of IPC.

The accused persons denied the charges and claimed trial.

With charges framed for murder, the maximum punishment entails death penalty while minimum is life imprisonment.

The court said that 'prima facie' there were grounds to frame joint charges against the accused persons in two cases, including that 43 witnesses in both cases were common.

The court further noted the submissions of CBI counsel Ashok Bhartendu that in order to execute the common purpose of conspiracy, "the deceased father was allegedly paraded naked and beaten 'black and blue' in full public view, and then on being rescued by the police, was taken to the police station Makhi, but then with the active connivance of the police officials, accused in the case, a country made pistol and four live cartridges were planted upon the deceased father of the survivor to put him behind bar, to stifle any protest over their earlier case of alleged rape."