Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the manner in which the Unnao rape victim's family were handled while protesting against the suspension of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the case. Condemning the suspension of the sentence for the accused, Gandhi said India is turning into a "dead society".
"Is such treatment of a gang rape survivor appropriate? Is it her 'fault' that she has the courage to raise her voice for justice? The fact that her perpetrator (former BJP MLA) has been granted bail is extremely disappointing and shameful—especially when the survivor is being repeatedly harassed, and is living under the shadow of fear. Bail for rapists, and treating survivors like criminals—what kind of justice is this?," the Leader of Opposition said in a post on X.
"We are not just becoming a dead economy—with such inhuman incidents, we are also turning into a dead society," the Congress leader lamented. Gandhi stressed survivor deserves respect, safety, and justice—"not helplessness, fear, and injustice".
The Delhi High Court suspended the accused's sentence in the 2017 Unnao rape case. The survivor's family have said they would approach the Supreme Court against the suspension of sentence.
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The Delhi High Court on Tuesday suspended the sentence of Sengar, who is serving life imprisonment in the case, and ordered his release on bail pending the disposal of his appeal against his conviction by a trial court in December 2019, the PTI reported. However, the court said Sengar shall not come within five-kilometre radius of the victim's residence and shall not threaten the survivor or her mother.
The expelled BJP legislator, however, will remain in jail since he is also serving 10 years' imprisonment in the custodial death case of the victim's father and has not been granted bail in that case. "If the convict gets bail in a case like this, how will the country's daughters remain safe? For us, this decision is no less than 'kaal' (death)," the victim told PTI. "Those with money win, those without money lose," she lamented.
