While the mother of the survivor of what is known as the Unnao rape case has received a ticket from the Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party has put up a candidate who has misled the court in the case according to the survivor.
On the first list of 125 candidates released by the Congress is the name of Asha Singh, the mother of the young woman who had alleged that she had been raped by Kuldeep Singh Sengar, former BJP MLA. Singh will contest from Unnao.
The survivor said that this was a ‘welcome step’ for the family and would help strengthen their fight for justice.
“I also appeal to Mayawati ji to not field Devendra Singh who has wrongly claimed that he was a witness in my case”, she said.
On January 9, the survivor had written to the President, the Chief Justice of India, the president of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Chief Election Commission to stop Singh from campaigning.
“He has misdirected the court and is electioneering with his CRPF protection”, she said.
Singh, who is a resident of Makhi village in Unnao to which the survivor also belongs, claims to be cousin of the survivor's lawyer. The said lawyer-- Mahendra Singh was the one driving the car in which the survivor and two of her aunts were on their way to meet a relative in Rae Bareli jail in July 2020. The car had met a fatal accident in which the survivor’s aunts had died immediately while the lawyer had died in November 2020 due to injuries sustained in the mishap. The court has absolved Sengar of any role in the accident.
Over a 100 people who had had their statements registered in support of the survivor or had deposed in the court were offered CRPF protection to ensure that no witnesses were harassed.
“Many people have falsely claimed to have helped me and received threats in turn. Singh is one of them”, said the survivor.
“I am fighting to get the undeserved security of all these people taken away”, she said.
Devendra Singh, who had earlier claimed to be the brother of Mahendra Singh had later said that he was only a ‘distant cousin’.
“It is true that I have been threatened for my role in supporting the victim and my cousin’s family”, he said.
Releasing the list of names, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “The mother of the girl from Unnao, who fought for justice against a legislator of the ruling party is our candidate”.
