The Unnao rape survivor on Wednesday said the Delhi High Court verdict suspending the jail term of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar was the death knell for her family and that she would have taken her own life had she not had children, adding that she would move the Supreme Court.
“It was very painful. Had I not been married and not had children, I would have committed suicide in front of the judge. The judge did not see the victim and gave the judgment,” the rape survivor told PTI.
She said she would feel safer in jail if Sengar was released on bail, adding she would much rather serve her tormentor’s jail term. She urged the Prime Minister and the President to ensure justice for her, saying that she wanted to meet President Droupadi Murmu as she too was a woman and could understand her pain.
The survivor met Sonia and Rahul Gandhi at Sonia’s residence and later said she had sought a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, but neither had responded to her plea.
The survivor, who was a minor when she was raped in 2017, said: “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).”
“Those with money win, those without money lose,” she rued.
However, Sengar will remain in jail as he is also serving a 10-year term for the murder of the survivor’s father. His appeal in this case is scheduled to be heard by Delhi High Court on January 16.
The survivor, who staged a protest with her mother near India Gate against the verdict, added that she would challenge the high court order in the Supreme Court.
The survivor’s mother told PTI her “tears will stop when his bail gets cancelled. Only then will my children eat food.”
On Tuesday night, the survivor, her mother and women’s rights activist Yogita Bhayana were forcibly removed from India Gate when they were protesting. Videos circulating on social media purport to show Delhi police personnel lifting the survivor and the mother and carrying them away from the protest site.
A senior police officer, however, said: “We removed the protesters from the site around 8.45pm on Tuesday and put them in a CRPF bus. No further action was taken.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met the rape survivor at Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence on Wednesday.
Rahul said the country was not just becoming a dead economy but also turning into a “dead society”. He condemned the alleged mistreatment of the survivor during her protest.
In a post on X, Rahul questioned the way bail was granted to Sengar, calling it “extremely disappointing and shameful”. Posting a video of the police removing the survivor from India Gate, he said these days, rapists were out on bail while survivors were being treated like criminals.
“We are not just becoming a dead economy — with such inhuman incidents, we are also turning into a dead society,” Rahul said.
“The fact that her perpetrator (a 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?” he added, attaching to the post a video of the police taking away the survivor.
“Is such treatment of a rape survivor appropriate? Is it her fault that she has the courage to raise her voice for justice?” Rahul asked.
“In a democracy, raising the voice of dissent is a right, and suppressing it is a crime,” Rahul said, adding that the survivor deserved respect, safety and justice, not helplessness, fear and injustice.
After the meeting with Rahul and Sonia, the survivor told reporters that she had sought a meeting with Modi and Shah, but neither responded.
“In the meantime, Rahul Gandhi invited me to meet him. I met Sonia Gandhiji and Rahul Bhaiya; they assured me that they would ensure I get justice. Rahul Bhaiya told me that he is with me in this fight,” the survivor said.
Providing details about what transpired at the meeting, Congress leader Pawan Khera said on X: “The family requested assistance in securing a top legal team to pursue the case against her perpetrator…. The family also requested assistance in relocating to a Congress-ruled state, citing serious concerns for their safety and the threat to their lives. The victim’s husband requested support in securing a better livelihood.”
Bhayana, the women’s rights activist, shared a video on X in which the rape survivor is purportedly heard saying she had left home in the morning to meet her lawyer but CRPF personnel tried to send her back home.
Bhayana claimed that the survivor was injured in the melee.
The survivor receives round-the-clock court-ordered CRPF security.