The Unnao rape survivor on Friday said she will not be intimidated by the suspension of the life sentence of convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar and she has “blind faith” in the Supreme Court, which she plans to approach for justice.
Speaking to PTI, the survivor said she had gone to protest outside the Delhi High Court to question the message being sent to women across the country.
“It is my right and the right of the public to ask these questions. Not every judge is like this,” she said.
She said the bail order had endangered her family’s safety and livelihood.
“This order has caged me and many women like me. It poses a threat to my family. My husband has also lost his job. What are we supposed to do?” she asked.
The survivor said she would challenge the order. “We will approach the Supreme Court. I have blind faith in it. The Supreme Court has given me justice before and I am confident it will do so again,” she said.
Declaring that fear would not silence her, she added, “They thought we would remain silent and fearful. They have not seen a woman in her Durga avatar. We will not be scared.”
Calling it a larger fight for women’s rights, the survivor said, “This is a fight for justice for the women of this country. I do not care if we are jailed, but we will continue to fight.”
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday suspended the life sentence awarded to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2019 Unnao rape case, granting him bail pending disposal of his appeal.
The court directed that Sengar must not come within a five-kilometre radius of the survivor’s residence or threaten her or her mother, warning that any violation would lead to cancellation of bail.
A day after she and her mother were dragged out while protesting at Delhi’s India Gate, the survivor met leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi at Sonia Gandhi’s residence on Wednesday. She said Rahul Gandhi had called her and expressed a desire to meet.
The survivor said both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were moved to tears after hearing her ordeal. She said she requested help to relocate her family to a Congress-ruled state, citing fears for their safety, and was assured that the matter would be looked into.
She also said Rahul Gandhi had promised to help her secure a senior lawyer as she prepares to challenge the Delhi High Court order in the Supreme Court. Her husband, she added, requested assistance for better employment, which Gandhi said he would look into.
“We just want to meet them and tell them what we are going through. I also want to meet the Prime Minister, the Union home minister and the President. I want justice,” she said.
Calling the bail order a “ first of its kind in the country”, the survivor said it had spread fear among women. “All the daughters of the country are now afraid that they will be raped and the criminals will get away with it. They have confined us to our homes by asking him to stay five kilometres away. I still have faith in the Supreme Court,” she said.
On Wednesday, the survivor said the Delhi High Court verdict was a “death knell” for her family and that she would have taken her own life had she not had children.
“If I did not have children, I would have committed suicide in front of the judge,” she told PTI, adding she would feel safer in jail if Sengar were released.
She also appealed to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene, saying only they could understand her pain.
The survivor’s elder sister alleged that henchmen of Sengar had threatened the family hours after the bail order.
“They came to our house and said they would kill all of us. If anything happens, the justice system will be responsible,” she said from Unnao’s Makhi village, adding that there were celebrations at Sengar’s house following the court order.
The survivor lives in Delhi with her family, while her sister remains in Makhi. Their houses are barely 200 metres from Sengar’s residence.
A bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar suspended Sengar’s sentence pending appeal but directed him to remain in Delhi during the bail period.
He continues to remain in jail as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in the case related to the murder of the survivor’s father.
His appeal in that case is scheduled to be heard on January 16.