New Delhi: After former MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was granted bail in the 2017 Unnao rape case, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi strongly criticized the decision. He called it disappointing and shameful and questioned the system’s treatment of the victim. He further claimed that India is not only becoming a dead economy but also a dead society due to such inhumane incidents.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi wrote, “Is this how a gang rape survivor should be treated? Is her ‘fault’ that she has the courage to speak up for justice? The fact that her perpetrator (former BJP MLA) has been granted bail is deeply disappointing and shameful, especially when the victim is being repeatedly harassed and living in fear.”
‘Survivor treated like a criminal’
Gandhi said, “Giving bail to the rapist and treating the survivor like a criminal. What kind of justice is this?” He warned that such actions erode people’s faith in the justice system. The senior Congress leader further stated that such incidents indicate not only institutional failure but also a deep moral decay. We are not just becoming a dead economy — with such inhumane incidents, we are also transforming into a dead society. He said, “Raising a voice of dissent in a democracy is a right, and suppressing it is a crime. The survivor deserves respect, security, and justice – not helplessness, fear, and injustice.” The survivor’s mother alleged that while she and her two daughters were being taken in a CRPF vehicle, they were suddenly dropped off on the roadside, and the security guards took her daughters away. She further alleged, “We haven’t received justice… They are taking my daughter away as a prisoner… These security personnel want to kill us all. They took my daughters away in a CRPF vehicle… Kuldeep Sengar’s bail should be canceled; otherwise, we will end our lives… Otherwise, we will be killed, we are not safe.”
Victim meets Rahul Gandhi
Meanwhile, the Unnao rape victim met with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Speaking to the media during the meeting, the rape victim said, “When I met Rahul Gandhi, he assured me of justice. I had also tried to speak to the Prime Minister and the President.”
She further added, “This is the first order of its kind in the country where the sentence in a rape case has been suspended and bail has been granted. All the daughters of the country are now afraid that they will be raped and the criminals will get away… They have confined us to our homes by ordering us to stay five kilometers away… I have faith in the Supreme Court that it will give us justice…”
Delhi High Court convicts Sengar
A day earlier, the Delhi High Court granted bail (suspended sentence) to former MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case. He had been convicted by a Delhi CBI court in a rape case involving a minor and was serving a life sentence. A division bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar suspended his sentence until his appeal is pending.
He was 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 received bail in the custodial death case of the victim’s father. Another appeal and application for suspension of sentence are pending in the Delhi High Court in that case. He was sentenced to 10 years in that case.
While granting bail, the High Court directed that Sengar will not go within a five-kilometer radius of the victim’s house in Delhi. It was also directed that Sengar will remain in Delhi. He will not contact the victim’s family members.
