'It was not accident but conspiracy', says Unnao rape survivor's mother

Patna, July 29: The mother of Unnao the 19-year-old rape survivor in Rae Bareli has termed the Sunday's incident -- in which the rape survivor and her lawyer were grievously injured -- a conspiracy to wipe out her family.

BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar is an accused in the rape case. He was arrested on April 13 last year.

Police also said on Monday that the registration plate of the truck that hit the car carrying the rape survivor's family was scrubbed, but they have managed to retrieve the number. The truck has been impounded and the driver arrested, they said.

The rape survivor, who is now 19-year-old, lost her two aunts in the accident while she and her lawyer received critical injuries, police said Sunday.

"It was not an accident but a conspiracy to eliminate all of us," her mother told reporters at Unnao on Monday.

"The son of a co-accused in the case, Shahi Singh, and another youth of the village had threatened us. They said that they will deal with us," she said.

The accident happened while the family was on its way to meet the woman's uncle, who is lodged in a Rae Bareli jail in a separate case.

Unnao Superintendent of Police MP Verma said that one gunner and two women constables have been assigned round-the-clock duty for the safety of the survivor and her family, but they were not present at the time of the accident.

"An inquiry has been ordered to look into the reasons as to why the security personnel were not present with her and action will be taken after getting a report," Verma said.

A police team that rushed to the spot in Rae Bareli after the accident found that the truck's registration plate was scrubbed and painted black, but they could retrieve the registration number UP 71 AT 8300, a police official said.

The truck has a Fatehpur district registration plate, Lucknow Zone ADG Rajeev Krishna said. When asked if the registration plate was tampered with, Krishna said it will be sent for forensic checks to ascertain the facts.

Teams from Lucknow have reached Rae Bareli for investigation.

Meanwhile, Delhi Commission for Women Chairman Swati Maliwal visited the woman who is admitted at the trauma centre of the Lucknow's King George's Medical University.

"We will fight for the girl to get justice. The family has alleged that the accident was a conspiracy," she said.

UP Congress leader Aradhana Mishra visited the trauma centre last night on the directions of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Aradhana said the woman is in a very critical condition and the advocate is on ventilator support.

The mother had alleged that Sengar, a four-time MLA who represents Bangermau in the UP Assembly, raped her daughter at his residence in 2017 when she was 17.

The case hit headlines after the survivor allegedly attempted self-immolation outside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence seeking justice.