As the victim's family and the Opposition welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to suspend bail granted to expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kuldeep Singar in the Unnao rape case, his daughters cried foul. Reacting to the development, Singar's daughters said they "still hope for justice.
Aishwarya Sengar, daughter of Kuldeep Singh Sengar, said they couldn't even argue the merits of their case in court on Monday. Aishwarya charged that the victim had changed her statements multiple times during the course of the case, "She has changed her statement several times, changed the timing thrice, starting from 2pm, 6pm and then finally 8pm. There’s a finding of the AIIMS medical board that she was more than 18," ANI reported.
The Supreme Court suspended the relief granted by the Delhi High Court to Kuldeep Sengar in the Unnao rape case on Monday. A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, and Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih also issued notice to Sengar seeking his response on the CBI's plea challenging the high court order.
Aishwarya said they have been fighting for justice for the past eight years, but "maybe the sorrows of me and my family mean nothing". She lamented that the family has been stripped of dignity, peace, and even the fundamental right to be heard. "Still hope for justice. I request that the media not spread any misinformation."
In an open letter, Kuldeep's daughter Ishita said they are "exhausted, frightened, and slowly losing faith, but still holding on to hope because there is nowhere else left to go."
Ishita said, "We trusted that justice in this country does not depend on noise, hashtags, or public anger. Today, I write because that faith is breaking." Ishita said she too faced inhuman death and rape threats on social media, and her identity has been reduced to a label—“the daughter of a BJP MLA.”
Also read
- Unnao rape case: Fight will continue till Kuldeep Sengar is sentenced to death, says survivor
- Unnao rape case: Supreme Court halts Sengar’s bail, raises key questions of law
- Unnao rape case: Why the victim is demanding CBI file FIR against investigating officer
- Suspension of life term of Kuldeep Sengar: Unnao survivor blasts CBI; alleges 'judge has taken so much money'
"Over these years, I have been told countless times on social media that I should be raped, killed, or punished simply for existing. This hatred is not abstract. It is daily. It is relentless. And it breaks something inside you when you realise that so many people believe you do not even deserve to live," she said.
"We have been drained financially, emotionally, and physically running from one office to another, writing letters, making calls, begging to be heard. There is no door we did not knock on. No authority we did not approach. No media house we did not write to. And yet no one listened," Ishita lamented.
Ishita charged people did not listen to them because the "truth was inconvenient". "What scares me today is not just injustice, it is fear. A fear deliberately manufactured. A fear so loud that judges, journalists, institutions, and ordinary citizens are all pressured into silence. A fear designed to ensure that no one dares to stand with us, no one dares to listen to us, and no one dares to say, 'Let us look at the facts'.”