Three security personnel tasked with the protection of the rape survivor were suspended on Thursday on charges of dereliction of duty following the road accident.
Lucknow| Amid nationwide outrage over the Unnao rape incident, the Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday swung into damage control mode by suspending three constables entrusted with the task of guarding the rape survivor, even as Opposition sought the resignation of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Stepping up its attack on the ruling BJP, the Samajwadi Party said in a tweet, “Without removing these three, the survivor will not get justice.” It tagged photographs of Adityanath, accused Kuldeep Singh Sengar and state DGP O P Singh with the tweet.
Leader of Opposition in UP Legislative Assembly Ram Govind Chowdhury (SP) said, “Taking moral responsibility of the incident, Yogi Adityanath should resign.”
On Sunday, the car in which the Unnao rape survivor, her family and lawyer were travelling was hit by a truck in Rae Bareli, killing her two aunts and leaving her and the advocate critically injured.
Also Read: MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar raped the Unnao victim, confirms CBI
The CBI, which has taken over the investigation into the road accident, booked 10 people for murder, including BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is already in jail, charged with the rape of the Unnao woman when she was a minor in 2017.
The police on Monday filed a murder case against Sengar and nine others after the rape survivor’s family filed a complaint alleging conspiracy behind the accident.
With the Opposition accusing the BJP of shielding its lawmaker, the saffron party expelled Sengar on Thursday, party sources said.
Three security personnel tasked with the protection of the rape survivor were suspended on Thursday on charges of dereliction of duty following the road accident, police said.
The suspended police personnel are Sudesh Kumar, and women constables Sunita Devi and Ruby Patel, said Superintendent of Police, Unnao, M P Verma.
Ajendra Awasthi, other advocates of the woman, said he has been provided with adequate security by the district administration after he requested for it in the wake of the Sunday accident.
Meanwhile, the body of the rape survivor’s aunt has consigned to flames in her village about 70 km from Barabanki on Thursday. Her mortal remains were brought to the village in Subeha area from Lucknow amid tight security.
The last rites were performed by her son in the presence of her two daughters. She was a widow.
With tears in her eyes, the woman’s daughter told reporters, “My mother did not die due to the accident. The MLA engineered the mishap. She had been staying (with the rape survivor) since the last nine months and pursued the case in court.
“It is nothing but a well-planned murder,” she rued, adding though her loss could not be compensated, a job to her brother will ensure that the family earned a livelihood. She also demanded adequate compensation to the bereaved family. The rape survivor’s other aunt, who was also killed in Sunday’s incident, was cremated on the banks of the Ganges in Unnao on Wednesday amid tight security.
The rape survivor’s uncle, who was granted short-term bail to attend the last rites of his wife, was brought to the Ganga ghat from the Rae Bareli district jail to attend the ritual.
Also Watch: Unnao Case: Mishap or Conspiracy?
Doctors at the King George Medical University (KGMU) here, where the Unnao woman and her lawyer are being treated, said their condition was stable.
The medical university authorities, however, said they had no information whether the victim will be airlifted to Delhi or anywhere outside the state.
“The rape survivor’s condition is stable but she is still on ventilator support,” Sandeep Tiwari, in-charge of KGMU’s Trauma Centre, told PTI.
A CT scan was conducted on the rape survivor, but there was no sign of any head injury. A team of doctors is monitoring her round-the-clock, the hospital authorities said.
“The injured advocate was removed from the ventilator for some time on Wednesday and Thursday. But he was later put on the ventilator again,” Tiwari said.
Hours after accused Kuldeep Sengar was expelled from the BJP, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the BJP has finally acknowledged having empowered a criminal and taken some action to correct itself.
“The BJP finally acknowledges having empowered a criminal and takes some action to correct itself and move in the direction of justice for a young woman who has suffered immeasurably,” she tweeted.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court also directed the transfer of all five cases registered in connection with the rape incident from Uttar Pradesh to the national capital.
It directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide Rs 25 lakh as interim compensation to the rape survivor.
The bench also directed that the trial in the main case relating to the rape of the woman will have to be completed within 45 days from its commencement.
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