Unnao Rape Case: Allahabad HC Orders CBI to ‘Arrest, Not Detain’ BJP MLA
New Delhi: In an atmosphere of political power shows and dilly dallying of authorities to take action on the BJP MLA accused of the rape of a minor girl in Unnao, it has been left to the court to rap the police and the CBI on the knuckles for tardy action. On Friday the Allahabad High Court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to “not detain, but arrest” BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the main accused in the Unnao Rape Case.
The two-judge bench gave this direction to the investigative agency after the counsel for the Uttar Pradesh government informed it that Sengar has been detained for interrogation but not arrested yet. The court then directed the CBI to carry out investigation strictly and in accordance with law and to consider filing an application for cancellation of bail granted to other accused in the case.
The court added that it will monitor the probe and asked the authorities to submit a progress report in the matter by May 2.
The bench passed the order on a letter written by a senior advocate demanding a court-monitored investigation of the incident, treating it as a PIL.
The MLA was taken into custody by CBI from his Lucknow residence in the early hours of Friday and booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and POCSO at a Police Station in Unnao on Thursday morning. The matter came to light after the woman attempted suicide outside the residence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday, triggering a massive row over women’s safety in Uttar Pradesh
