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New Delhi: The Unnao rape case survivor on Saturday made a fresh emotional appeal, alleging that she has been forced to move from one place to another for over a year and has been subjected to sustained mental harassment by supporters of Kuldeep Sengar, who is serving a life sentence in the case.
She said that she and her husband are facing a coordinated smear campaign on social media and appealed to the public to stand with her. The survivor’s statement came days after Sengar’s daughter, Aishwarya Sengar, posted on X claiming her father was innocent and sought public backing. Speaking to news agency ANI, the survivor recounted the ordeal she has faced since coming forward.
"I've been wandering for a year. I've been wandering while living in Delhi. I wandered for a year while living in Uttar Pradesh, and then, under pressure, an FIR was filed. My father was killed, and only then was an FIR registered. My message to Aishwarya Sengar is that if you've been roaming around for eight years, I've been suffering and wandering from place to place for more than a year."
She alleged that she continues to face extreme psychological pressure. "Kuldeep Sengar raped me, but his supporters are mentally torturing me...I'm being tortured so much that I'm being forced to consider suicide".
The survivor questioned why Sengar’s daughter was contacting her and raised concerns over her identity being revealed. "Revealing the picture of a rape victim is a very serious crime...His supporters are doing this...Till the time the Police don't tell me what action they will take against this, I will sit here in protest."
In a separate video message, she claimed that over the past two days, social media posts targeting her and her husband have been circulated by individuals identifying themselves as Sengar’s supporters. She also alleged that messages were being shared online about a proposed ‘Kshatriya conference’ at Jantar Mantar on January 11 in support of Sengar, purportedly called by his daughters.
Appealing against caste-based mobilisation, the survivor said, "I am also a daughter of the Kshatriya community. I am also a daughter of this country. Please become my voice. A criminal has no caste,"
The case returned to the spotlight after the Delhi High Court suspended Sengar’s jail sentence, noting that he had already spent seven years and five months in prison in connection with the 2017 case. The order, however, was challenged by the Central Bureau of Investigation before the Supreme Court, which subsequently stayed the high court’s decision amid nationwide outrage.
The Unnao rape case had triggered massive protests in 2017 after the survivor accused the then BJP MLA of rape and later alleged intimidation and threats. Public attention intensified following the custodial death of her father. On August 1, 2019, the apex court ordered the transfer of the trial and related cases from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi.
Sengar’s appeal against his conviction in the custodial death case of the survivor’s father is still pending.
