IT TOOK AN ORDER FROM A BENCH OF THE Allahabad High Court consisting of Chief Justice D.B. Bhonsale and Justice Sumeet Kumar castigating the Uttar Pradesh law and order machinery for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to arrest Kuldeep Singh Sengar, Member of the Legislative Assembly from Bangarmau constituency in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district, for the alleged rape of a minor girl by him on June 4, 2017. The court had taken suo motu cognisance of the case, and Sengar was arrested on April 13, 2018, a day after the High Court passed the order.
Indeed, the High Court’s acknowledgement of the alleged crime ensued from a series of more recent developments relating to the original complaint. These included a self-immolation attempt by the rape victim in front of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s official residence and the death of the victim’s father, Surendra Singh, in the custody of the Unnao police two days before the court took notice of the case. The court also took note of the fact that the victim’s father had died following a merciless beating, reportedly by goons associated with Sengar and police personnel.
The scathing 20-page order of the High Court said: “The disturbing feature of the case is that the law and order machinery and the government officials we
