The Supreme Court on Monday granted two more weeks to the CBI to conclude the probe into the accident in which two of the Unnao rape survivor’s relatives, including one crucial witness in the case, were killed and her advocate injured and she were injured critically.
The car in which they were travelling was hit at full force by a speeding truck with blackened number plates. The apex court order followed the CBI asking for four more weeks, citing the need to record statements from the survivor and her lawyer, both of whom remain in critical condition at AIIMS in Delhi.
On July 28, the teen girl, who has accused expelled BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Sengar, 53, of raping her in 2017 when she went to him looking for a job, was travelling in a Swift Dzire car when the truck hit them. Two of the survivor’s relatives died in the accident, one of whom was a witness to the rape.
Taking action in the matter, the Supreme Court directed that all cases linked to the teen’s rape be transferred to Delhi. It also gave the CBI a week to complete investigations into the crash; provisions were made for additional time, if needed.
The top court bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, also stated that the trial in the remaining four cases, including the rape case and that involving the murder of the survivor’s father, be completed within 45 days.
—India Legal Bureau