Today, a Delhi Court has handed a life imprisonment sentence to the ex-BJP MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) Kuldeep Sengar who was convicted in kidnapping and raping a then teenager in Unnao in 2017. District Judge, Dharmesh Sharma, passed the judgement today. On the 16th of December the Delhi Court found Sengar guilty in the case.
Read: Delhi Court Finds Former BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar Guilty in Unnao Rape Case
Along with the life imprisonment, the Court has also directed Sengar that he will have to pay Rs. 25 lakh to the victim’s family. The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) had earlier pursued life imprisonment for Sengar, saying that this case represents the fight for justice of a person against the system.
CBI’s counsel, and the accuser (plaintiff) in 2017 Unnao Rape Case asked for maximum punishment for Sengar saying that the Court must take into consideration the prolonged trial and suffering faced by the victim.
Victim’s counsel sustained CBI’s submissions and requested the court to order Sengar to pay sufficient monetary compensation to the rape survivor and its family. Sengar’s lawyer requested the court to not give him such a harsh punishment, his counsel requested the court to hand him minimum punishment of 10 years jail term, asserting that Sengar has no prior criminal record.
On Monday, Sengar was convicted by the court in not only under Rape charges of IPC (Indian Penal Court) but also various accounts of POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act for the offence carried out by a public servant.
Sengar has been convicted in 1 of the 5 related cases that were transferred out of Uttar Pradesh to Delhi. The other four cases are – a conspiracy of Sengar with others in an accident case of the rape survivor, framing of the rape survivor’s father in an illegal firearms case, Victim’s father’s death in judicial custody, and case of her alleged gang rape by three others.
