Unnao Rape Case: Key Witness Dies & Buried Without Autopsy, Family Of Victim Allege Foul Play

In a shocking new development in Unnao rape case, Yunus, who is a key witnesses in the rape victim father’s custodial death, died on August 18 and was reportedly buried without undergoing an autopsy as reported by The Hindu. According to reports, rape victim’s family is alleging foul play by the BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar who is an accused in the case. They are demanding the authorities to exhume his body and conduct a proper autopsy.

What Happened

The news of his death and ensuing allegations came out after the victim’s uncle approached Unnao SP Harish Kunar with the complaint. In his complaint, he has alleged that Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his men wanted to weaken the case against them by eliminating the key witness. In his complaint, he is urging the authorities to register an FIR and start legal action against the accused. While speaking to The Times of India, he said, “I met Unnao SP Harish Kumar and submitted my application with him. I requested him to exhume the body and get the post-mortem done since he was the main witness in the assault case and it is beyond understanding how did he die all of a sudden.”

The deceased key-witness, Yunus’s neighbour, told that Yunus, who runs a small grocery store fell ill out of the blue on August 18 and passed away on the way to the District hospital. They also stated that he was buried the same day by his family without the knowledge of the police. According to the police’s probe, Yunus had died of liver disease. Safipur circle officer Vivek Ranjan Rai told the media that doctors prescription and testimony of the family shows that Yunus was suffering from liver cirrhosis for the past few years and had died due to the disease.

Witness’s family dismiss allegation of conspiracy

According to The Hindu, Yunus’s family has dismissed the allegations of conspiracy. His brother Mr.Mohammed reaffirms that Yunus died due to liver disease. “His liver was damaged. He was ill for the past four months…for three months he did not leave his bed,” he said. He also alleged that the victim’s uncle promised him Rs 10 to12 lakhs to exhume his brother’s remains, but he rejected the offer. CBI has not commented on any latest development.

The Case

Unnao rape case received national attention after a minor girl attempted suicide outside the official residence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for demanding the justice against an MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar for allegedly raping her, day after her 55-year-old father was manhandled and thrashed by the main accused MLA’s brother. The next day her father succumbed to the injuries and died. This incident led to a widespread uproar in the nation, demanding justice for the minor. Major national media giants picked up the news, and the details of the case started emerging.

A Timeline of The Events

As The Logical Indian had reported earlier, the then minor was raped by the MLA and his brother in June 2017. She had immediately lodged an FIR seeking justice. However, the inactions by the local police lead her to approach the court under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) Section 156 (3). However, this was also in vain, with the hearing of the case being postponed for over a year. Moreover, she alleged that the accused and his men continuously threatened her family. Braving all the odds, the girl and her family kept fighting for justice.

On April 3, an altercation between the accused and the victims family resulted in the girl’s father being beaten up. Both the victim and the accused registered complaints against each other, and allegedly due to the political power of the accused MLA, only the complaint against the victim’s family was taken up by the police, leading to the father’s arrest. This led the girl to attempt suicide outside the Chief Minister’s residence in Lucknow, on April 8, accusing him of protecting the MLA and delaying the justice process. Immediately after this, the victim’s father was arrested and beaten up at the police station who then died the next day. On April 10 post-mortem reports showed that he had sustained 14 injuries, which led to his death.

Aftermath

Public outrage and nationwide media coverage created much noise in favour of the victim because of which finally on April 11, 2018, the UP government ordered the police to hand over the Unnao rape case to CBI. Six policemen were suspended for that inaction and four men who were the associates of MLA Kuldeep Sengar were arrested and charged with the death of the victim’s father. The MLA Kuldeep Singh was named accused in the case following a high-level enquiry. Hence justice was finally served, or so we thought.

Also Read: Brother Of BJP MLA Accused Of Raping 18-Yr-Old Arrested After Girl’s Father Died In Police Custody