Unnao rape survivors mother manhandled, forced off moving bus during protest in Delhi
The incident occurred as the survivor and her mother attempted to address the media at Mandi House. This came a day after they staged a protest at India Gate against the suspension of Sengar's sentence. The duo had been detained during the overnight protest and were being transported in a CRPF-escorted bus on Wednesday morning.
New Delhi: A protest by the Unnao rape survivor and her mother against the Delhi high court's decision to grant relief to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar led to chaotic scenes in the national capital on Wednesday, with the survivor's elderly mother allegedly being forced to jump off a moving bus escorted by paramilitary personnel.
The incident occurred as the survivor and her mother attempted to address the media at Mandi House, according to a report by NDTV. This came a day after they staged a protest at India Gate against the suspension of Sengar's sentence. The duo had been detained during the overnight protest and were being transported in a CRPF-escorted bus on Wednesday morning.
According to reports, the bus did not stop at Mandi House as the protesters had not been granted permission to demonstrate at either Mandi House or India Gate. A CRPF officer told NDTV that the plan was to take the survivor and her mother either to Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site, or back to their residence in Delhi.
No women CRPF personnel in bus
There were no women CRPF personnel present in the bus, despite it carrying the survivor and her mother. After repeated instructions from personnel, the mother jumped off the moving bus, while the vehicle carrying the survivor drove away.
Speaking to reporters later, the survivor's mother alleged that her daughter had been forcibly taken away and said they were prevented from protesting. "We were going to Mandi House to protest, but the CRPF men forcibly took her away and dropped me on the road," she said.
The survivor also criticised the court's decision, questioning the suspension of Sengar's sentence and stating that she would challenge the order in the Supreme Court. "How can our judiciary do this to us?" she said, adding that she feared for her family's safety.
Delhi HC suspends Sengar's life imprisonment in rape case
The incident came after the HC on Tuesday suspended Sengar's life imprisonment in the 2017 rape case, pending the hearing of his appeal. The court held that under the pre-2019 provisions of the POCSO Act, an MLA does not qualify as a "public servant" or a person in a "position of trust", reducing the minimum sentence to seven years, a period Sengar has already spent in custody.
The court granted Sengar conditional bail, subject to several restrictions, including a Rs 15 lakh personal bond, residence only in Delhi, a ban on entering within 5 km of the survivor's home, surrender of his passport, and weekly reporting to the police. Sengar, however, will continue to remain in jail to serve a 10-year sentence in connection with the custodial death of the survivor's father.
The survivor was allegedly raped in June 2017 in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district, when she was a minor. Sengar was expelled from the BJP after his name surfaced in the case and was convicted in 2019. The survivor and her family have been living under CRPF protection in Delhi due to threats and a series of violent incidents over the past eight years.
Rahul terms bail disappointing and shameful
Meanwhile, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi in a post on X said that granting bail to Sengar was "disappointing and shameful, especially when the survivor herself is being repeatedly harassed and forced to live under constant fear".
He also shared a video of the protesting women being "manhandled" asking "if such treatment of a gangrape survivor justified?"