New Delhi, March 4 A Delhi court on Wednesday convicted expelled BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar, his brother and acquitted four others in a case pertaining to alleged custodial death of father of a girl who he raped in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district three years ago.
While pronouncing the judgement, District Judge Dharmesh Sharma observed that the case shows how strings are pulled when a powerful person is involved. "It shows how our system works," he said.
Senger has been convicted under Section 304 part 2 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which pertains to act done knowing it may cause death, but without any intention to cause death.
"Sengar had no intention of killing rape victim's father. He was beaten in a brutal manner that led to his death," the court said.
The judge further stated, "Police officer should have intervened and tried to save the person. There was gross medical negligence. Doctors acted like butchers."
"As there were eighteen injuries on his body but you took him to police station and implicated him in a false case," the judge further said.
The case pertains the death of rape survivor's father in custody on April 9, 2018.
The woman was allegedly kidnapped and raped by Sengar in 2017 when she was a minor. The court had, on December 20 last year, sent him to jail for "remainder of his natural biological life" for raping the girl.
The rape complaint, however, was registered only after she attempted to immolate herself outside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's official residence in Lucknow.
She took the extreme step after her father was thrashed by Sengar's brother, Atul Sengar.
According to a charge sheet in July 2018, survivor's father and his co-worker were returning to their village when they asked for lift from one Shashi Pratap Singh. He denied it which then led to altercation.
Singh then called his associates, including Sengar's brother Atul and others who beat up the survivor's father.
He was taken to jail instead of the hospital even though he was grievously injured and died two days later in police custody.
The matter came to light after a video clip showing Atul beating the father went viral on the social media.
The court had earlier framed charges against Sengar, his brother, police station in-charge Ashok Singh Bhadauria, Sub Inspector Kamta Prasad, Constable Amir Khan and six others in the case.
Kuldeep Singh Sengar was recently disqualified from the membership of the UP assembly, following his conviction in the rape case.
( With inputs from IANS )