Catch all the live updates on the Unnao rape survivor’s accident here.
A day after the Unnao woman, who levelled rape accusations against BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar, was critically injured in a car-truck collision, the Uttar Pradesh Police said that they were ready to probe in the matter. She was travelling with her two aunts, who died in the collision, and advocate Mahendra Singh, who remains critical.
ADG Rajeev Krishna on Monday, 29 July, said that a forensic team is probing how the accident took place.
The collision happened near Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli. According to the police, the truck was coming from Banda and heading to Fatehpur.
The truck driver and cleaner have been arrested in connection with the case.
Unnao Superintendent of Police Madhav Prasad Verma said that on the directives of senior officials, he along with the mother of the rape survivor, three sisters and brother rushed to Lucknow. The survivor and the lawyer are undergoing treatment at the trauma centre in the city.
Quoting eyewitnesses, Raebareli Superintendent of Police Sunil Kumar Singh said that a speeding truck hit the car carrying the woman.
“There were showers and the truck driver lost control over the vehicle which rammed into the car.”Sunil Kumar Singh, Raebareli Superintendent of Police
‘SENGAR AND HIS MEN THREATENED US’
The survivor’s has alleged that the accused MLA carried out the collision, NDTV reported.
“I have got to know that the lawmaker got it done. He is inside... he has a phone inside (the jail). He is doing everything sitting inside the jail.”Mother of the survivor
She further added “Sengar is in jail but his men aren't. He and his men were threatening us... We want justice.”
TRUCK'S NUMBER PLATE SCRUBBED?
The number plate of the truck that hit the car was scrubbed with black grease.
However, the police said drivers usually blacken their number plates to avoid Road Transport Office (RTO) in cases of overloading, Quint Hindi reported.
Survivor's uncle has alleged that the scrubbing of the number plate directly hints at a conspiracy behind the accident.
WHERE WERE THE GUNNERS?
The survivor was given one male and two female gunners for protection who stayed with her family.
According to DGP Singh, the security personnel were absent due to lack of space in the car and that the survivor had requested them to not accompany her on Sunday.
“There was no negligence in her security. Due to lack of space in her vehicle, she requested the security personnel deputed for security not to accompany her to Raebareli yesterday.”OP Singh, UP DGP to ANI
OPPOSITION DEMANDS CBI PROBE
A day after the incident, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a tweet questioned the safety of the survivor and the progress in the case.
“The road accident involving Unnao rape survivor is shocking. Where did the CBI inquiry in the case reach? Why is the accused MLA still in BJP? Why is there a lack in survivor’s safety? Can we expect justice from the BJP government without them answering these questions?,” she tweeted in Hindi.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, meanwhile, alleged that it could be a conspiracy to kill the rape survivor and demanded a CBI probe into the incident.
BACKGROUND OF THE CASE
The Unnao case pertains to the gang-rape of the woman between 11 and 20 June 2017, allegedly by Shubham Singh, his driver Naresh Tiwari and one Brijesh Yadav.
Before that, the girl was allegedly raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar at his residence in Makhi village on 4 June 2017.
A video purportedly showing the victim’s father before his death accusing the MLA’s brother of assaulting him, had then gone viral.
While Sengar has been in jail since 2018, his brother Atul Singh was arrested along with four others for allegedly thrashing the victim’s father.
In December 2018, an FIR was lodged on court orders against the victim, her mother and an uncle for allegedly producing a forged age certificate to prove she was a minor.
(With inputs from Quint Hindi ANI, PTI and NDTV)
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