'Brother' Sengar facing difficult times: BJP leader on rape accused
What's the story
A BJP lawmaker has come out in support of Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is accused of raping a teen in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao two years ago.
Ashish Singh Ashu, a BJP lawmaker from Hardoi, on Friday said Sengar was going through "difficult times" and wished that his former colleague comes out from jail soon.
Notably, Sengar was jailed last year.
Address
Our best wishes are with him: Singh
Singh was speaking at a panchayat event near Unnao, the district to which both Sengar and the girl he allegedly raped in 2017 belong.
Wishing the best for "brother" Sengar, Singh said, "We hope that he will overcome the bad times, fight through it and come out of it and be with all of you. Wherever we are, our best wishes are with him."
Leader
Ironically, Sengar faces serious accusations of rape and murder
Sengar, a four-time MLA, was imprisoned last year after CBI took over the investigation of the rape case. The investigative agency told the court that Sengar assaulted the victim in June 2017.
The "influential" politician was also accused by the survivor's family of engineering last week's car crash, in which two of her aunts died.
The teen survivor and her lawyer were seriously injured.
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Too little, too late: BJP took months to expel Sengar
Though the case was reported last year, months after the alleged rape happened, BJP didn't initiate action against Sengar. He was expelled from the saffron party only after massive public outcry over the accident of the survivor.
Investigation
Now, CBI has been directed to finish probe soon
Now, both the accident and rape cases are being investigated by CBI.
However, in the former matter, the Supreme Court has ordered CBI to complete the probe within next seven days. An extension of another week will be given if required, a bench led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi said.
Running on a deadline, CBI asked for details of those who visited Sengar in jail.
Allegations
Sengar's henchmen threatened victim's family repeatedly
Meanwhile, the victim's family claimed Sengar had been pressurizing them to drop the rape case.
The threats, they said, increased in the last couple of months after Allahabad High Court rejected the bail plea of a co-accused in the rape matter.
Her family wrote as many as 36 letters to top officials of UP seeking protection. A letter was also sent to CJI Gogoi.