Ex-BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh gets life sentence for rape

In latest, the Courts have sentenced Ex-BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar to a life sentence in connection with the kidnap and rape of a minor in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh in 2017. He was expelled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was found guilty of rape by Delhi Court on 16 December 2019. In cases of rape on minors, the current law under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO Act) states that the perpetrator could get a death sentence. However, the law has been amended after the crime was committed in 2017, which led to the criminal - Sengar getting a life sentence the maximum punishment in such cases. A compensation of Rs 25 lakh is being given out to the victim's family.

The 2017 Unnao Rape Case:

The victim was raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in 2017. At the time, she was a minor and had battled for her life after a truck rammed into the car she was travelling in with some family members and her lawyer in Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh on July 28. Two of her aunts died in the road accident. The victim was air-lifted to AIIMS for better treatment from a hospital in Lucknow.

After being discharged from the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi in September this year, the victim along with her family had been put under Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) security as per the directions of the apex court. The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Thursday sought seven days from a city court for providing accommodation to the victim's family. The rape survivor's family had earlier told the court that they wanted to reside in the national capital apprehending threat in Uttar Pradesh, their native state. The minor's father lost his life during the trial period.