UP Election 2022: Congress names Unnao rape victim's mother as candidate

New Delhi, Jan 13: The Congress has named the mother of 2017 Unnao rape victim, as a candidate in the UP Assembly polls.

Calling it an attempt to bring a new kind of politics, Priyanka Gandhi said that out of the 125 candidates, 40 per cent are women while 40 per cent are youths of the state.

"In the first list of 125 candidates for UP polls, 50 candidates are women, including Asha Singh, mother of the Unnao rape victim. From Shahjahanpur, we have fielded Asha worker Poonam Pandey who led an agitation for a raise in honorarium," said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Who is Unnao Congress MLA Candidate Asha Singh?

Asha Singh is the mother of 2017 Unnao rape victim. The rape case, refers to the gang rape of a 17-year-old girl on 4 June 2017 in Unnao.

On 16 December 2019, former BJP member Kuldeep Singh Sengar was convicted for the rape on 20 December 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Later, Sengar was found guilty in the death of the girl's father in judicial custody.

The rape survivor attempted to immolate herself at the residence of Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, on 8 April 2018. Her father died in judicial custody shortly thereafter. These incidents brought public attention to the case, and the incident was widely reported on in the national media in April 2018.

On December 20, 2019, Sengar was sentenced to jail for the "remainder of his natural biological life" in a separate case for raping the minor in 2017.

On March 4, 2020, Sengar, his brother and five others were also convicted for the death of the rape survivor's father in judicial custody and were sentenced to 10 years in jail.