Unnao rape convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar disqualified from UP House

Lucknow: Expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar has been disqualified from the membership of the UP assembly, following his conviction in a rape case. The development has necessitated a byelection in Bangarmau assembly seat in Unnao, represented by Senger.
According to a notification issued by the Vidhan Sabha on February 20, Sengar has been disqualified as per the rules following his conviction by a Delhi court which had awarded the life imprisonment to the MLA on December 20 last year.With this the Bangarmau seat has fallen vacant from that date itself, the notification said. A senior official in Vidhan Sabha secretariat said that it would soon be informing about the Sengar’s disqualification to the Election Commission of India which will decide on the date for bypoll.
Sengar is the second BJP MLA to be disqualified after getting convicted in a criminal case. Last year in June, BJP Hamirpur MLA Ashok Singh Chandel was convicted by Allahabad HC in a 22-year old murder case. He, too, had been sentenced to life imprisonment, necessitating a byelection, which was won by BJP candidate Yuvraj Singh in September last year.
A four-term MLA, Sengar was expelled by BJP in August 2019 following a furore over his alleged involvement in rape of a minor at his Makhi village in Unnao in June 2017. The case came to the limelight after the survivor attempted self-immolation outside the CM’s residence in April 2018 when the police did not take action on her complaint. A few days later, her father died in police custody.
The case was later handed over to the CBI, which said it had evidence against Sengar. It filed four FIRs against Sengar and his aides and he was arrested, along with his brother Atul.