Unnao rape & kidnapping case: Ex-BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar sentenced to life imprisonment

The Tis Hazari court in Delhi on Friday sentenced former BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar to life imprisonment. Judge Dharmesh Shah did not find any mitigating circumstances in the case. Moreover, he has been asked to pay a fine of Rs.25 lakh, out of which Rs.10 lakh will be given to the victim while the prosecution will receive Rs.15 lakh. On December 16, the court convicted him in the Unnao rape case. The BJP was forced to expel the 4-time MLA from Bangermau in August 2019. He was convicted for rape under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for committing penetrative sexual assault against a child.  

Read: Unnao Rape & Kidnapping Case: Former BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar Convicted By Delhi Court

"I found her statement truthful and unblemished that she was sexually assaulted. She was under threat, worried. She is a village girl, not from a cosmopolitan educated area... Sengar was a powerful person. So she took her time..," the judge said while reading out the verdict on December 16.  

Read the operative part of the judgment here: 

Read: Unnao Rape & Kidnapping Case: Sengar's Sentence Hearing Deferred Till December 20

Sengar's counsel presses claim for minimum punishment

Earlier in the week, the sentencing hearing was deferred as the judge asked Kuldeep Sengar’s lawyers to submit his election nomination papers for judging his financial status. During the proceedings, his counsel pleaded for minimum punishment and no fine for him. It was claimed that he had worked for the society in various capacities.  

Read: Arvind Kejriwal On Unnao Verdict: Hope There Won't Be Any More Attempts To Save Sengar

The Unnao rape case

When the woman was a minor, she was kidnapped and raped by Kuldeep Sengar in 2017. The court had framed charges against Sengar under Sections 120b (criminal conspiracy), 363 (kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping or inducing a woman to compel for marriage), 376 (rape) and other relevant sections of the POCSO Act. On July 28, 2019, the woman who had accused Sengar was severely injured after the car in which she was traveling was hit by a truck. Two of her aunts were killed in the accident and her family had alleged foul play. During the in-camera rape trial, 13 prosecution witnesses and 9 defence witnesses were examined. 

Read: Smriti Irani Calls Politics On Rape ‘abhorrent' As Court Convicts Sengar For Unnao Rape