New Delhi [India], December 23 : Hours after the former MLA Kuldeep Sengar was granted bail in the 2017 Unnao rape case, the victim, her mother, and women activist Yogitha Bhayana held a protest at India Gate on Tuesday.
The victim, while sitting on the India Gate premises, alleged that bail was granted due to the upcoming 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
"I heard the judgment, and I felt very bad. I wanted to kill myself then and there, but I stopped after thinking about my family. Injustice has been done to us. Elections are coming, and he has been released on bail so that his wife can contest the polls. If such a rape accused will come out, how will we be safe?" the victim told ANI on Sengar's suspension of sentence.
The victim also called for the bail to be cancelled, citing that she is scared after his bail order.
She also expressed faith in the judiciary, saying that they will approach the Supreme Court, too.
"Everyone has become unsafe. His bail should be cancelled, and he should be sent to jail. We will go to the Supreme Court. I have faith in the Supreme Court. We are scared that he has been released," he said.
Delhi Police officials also removed the victim, her mother, and women's activist Yogita Bhayana from the site of the protest. Visuals from the area showed the family forcefully being carried to a bus, while they urged police to allow them to protest.
Activist Yogitha Bhayana, also at the site of the protest, highlighted that the victim and her family have been alone in their ordeal, and questioned the grounds on which Sengar was given bail.
"They have faced a lot of difficulties from the beginning... What has happened today that the accused was given bail?... Rapits are getting bail, and innocents are being kept in jail. No one is standing with them today. They are under threat after he has been released on bail," she told ANI.
The victim's sister has also expressed opposition to the bail order, saying that her family, including her brother, are being threatened by men who are roaming around her house.
"I'm not happy about this. He killed my uncle and then my father. Then this incident happened with my sister. He has been released, but we're still in danger. Who knows, now that they're out, they might kill my entire family. If they've released him, then they should put us in jail. At least our lives would be safe there. We would be alive," the victim's sister said.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted bail (suspension of sentence) to former MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case. A Delhi CBI court convicted him in a minor's rape case, and he was serving a life sentence.
His appeal against the judgment is pending before the Delhi High Court.
Division bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar suspended the sentence during the pendency of his appeal. He has been granted relief on the condition that he furnish a bail bond of Rs. 15 lakh.
However, he will remain in custody as he has not yet been granted bail in the victim's father's custodial death matter. An appeal and application for suspension of sentence is pending before the High Court of Delhi. He was sentenced to 10 years in that case.