Mayawati targets UP govt over Unnao rape case

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Friday said the "agony" suffered by the Unnao rape survivor and her family puts the ruling dispensation to shame.

Her comments came a day after the Supreme Court issued a slew of instructions in the Unnao rape case, including directing the transfer of all five cases registered in connection with the incident from a court in Uttar Pradesh to a court in Delhi.

"The pain and agony inflicted by the ruling dispensation on the Unnao rape victim and her family is unpardonable and shameful for the government. It cannot be compensated for," Mayawati wrote on Twitter in Hindi.

She said the Supreme Court deserved praise for its intervention in the case.

Justice will be done only if the guilty are awarded stern punishment, she added.

Besides transferring the cases related to the Unnao rape incident, the apex court also ordered that the trial be held on daily basis and it should be completed within 45 days.

The court gave the CBI seven days to complete investigation into a recent accident, in which two of the victim's aunts were killed and she and her lawyer critically injured.

The victim's family has lodged a complaint, alleging "conspiracy" behind the car crash.

The CBI has booked rape accused MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and 10 others for murder in connection with the accident which took place on July 28.

The victim (19) was allegedly raped by Sengar, the MLA from Bangermau, on June 4, 2017, when she was a minor. She had gone to the legislator's house seeking a job.

The case came to light after the victim allegedly tried to immolate herself outside Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence last year.

Sengar was arrested in April last year.

Amid growing public anger over the case, the ruling BJP expelled Sengar from the party on Thursday.