The sister of the Unnao rape survivor on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to set aside Delhi High Court’s order suspending the jail term of Kuldeep Singh Sengar, but said the family lived in constant fear of their powerful tormentor — “whether it is at our home in Makhi village or anywhere else in Uttar Pradesh or Delhi”.

The sister, who left for Delhi to be with the survivor and their mother on Monday, said they hoped Sengar, the former BJP MLA of Bangarmau in Unnao, would be handed the death sentence eventually. She said the apex court setting aside the relief granted to the life convict was only a temporary relief.

“He is not a normal criminal; he is a powerful pervert who used every trick to survive in politics and is now doing whatever he can to get out of jail. The fact remains that in jail or out of it, he was never inactive. Our only nightmare is that his goons, who are extremely loyal to their master, would harm us. They can be stopped only when the rapist and murderer is hanged for his crime,” the sister said.

She said Sengar’s family members had “started a new emotional game by putting forward the women of the family to make public appeals in support of the criminal”.

“In Makhi or anywhere else in Uttar Pradesh or Delhi, we live in constant fear of being killed. My mother and other family members have not visited the village since April 2025, when their government security was withdrawn.

“Even in Delhi, my mother and sister keep changing addresses. It was only a few days ago that Sengar’s family members sent goons to kill my mother at her residence in Delhi. Fortunately, she was not there at that time. We have video footage of the incident. They can be silenced only when Sengar is punished, keeping in view the rarity of his crime,” the sister said.

A Kanpur journalist tracking the Sengar case said the convict, who is also serving a 10-year jail term for the murder of the survivor’s father, was a terror.

“In jail or out of jail, Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s terror looms large over his village. We had visited Makhi after Delhi High Court suspended his life sentence and granted him bail in the rape case last week. While only the elder sister of the raped girl spoke up against Sengar and the court order, the majority of the villagers were too fearful, saying ‘the tiger would be back’,” the journalist said.

“We again went to the village on Monday after the Supreme Court stayed his release. The same villagers told us that they had clear instructions from Sengar’s men to stay away from the media. The elder sister of the survivor left the village to be with the family in Delhi soon after the Supreme Court’s order was flashed,” he added.

The survivor’s mother told reporters in Delhi on Monday evening that Sengar had amassed wealth through crimes.

“He was nobody two decades ago. His mother and other family members now live in palatial houses in multiple states because Sengar has earned a lot of money by committing crimes. They are products of this illegally earned money and accept the brutal criminal as their husband or father. They have seen his criminal activities and enjoyed it,” the survivor’s mother said.