This story is from September 9, 2020

Unnao rape case: CBI for action against an IAS, three IPS

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the 2017 Unnao rape case in which the then BJP MLA from Bangarmau, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, has been convicted, has recommended appropriate action against an IAS and three IPS officers then posted in the district.
Unnao rape case: CBI for action against an IAS, three IPS
Ex-MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar
LUCKNOW: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the 2017 Unnao rape case in which the then BJP MLA from Bangarmau, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, has been convicted, has recommended appropriate action against an IAS and three IPS officers then posted in the district.
The officers include 2009 batch IAS officer Aditi Singh, who was Unnao DM from January 24 2017, to October 26, 2017.
She is at present posted as Hapur DM.
Besides, action has also been recommended against 2006 batch Manipur cadre IPS officer Pushpanjali Devi, who served as Unnao SP from October 27 to April 30, 2018. She is now posted as DIG-GRP, Lucknow.
The CBI has also recommended action against 2009 batch IPS officer Neha Pandey, who was Unnao SP from February 2, 2016 to October 26, 2017. Pandey is now on deputation in the Intelligence Bureau (IB). The third police officer is Ashtabhuja Singh, who was posted in Unnao as Additional Superintendent of police then and is commandant PAC 12th battalion in Ambedkarnagar now. He was given IPS rank last year.
A senior home department official told TOI that the recommendation sent by the CBI is under consideration and the government will take suitable action in time. The DGP headquarters, too, has a similar view.
The CBI has stated that these top officers failed to do the needful when the matter was reported to them by the rape survivor. The agency had sent names of these officers to the Uttar Pradesh government in the last week of February, but as per officials in
the home department, specific charges were not mentioned, following which it has sent the list again.
According to the central agency, the girl was raped in June 2017 by the then MLA Sengar, his brother and their henchmen, but intitally FIR for kidnapping was lodged. The survivor and her family kept approaching the senior officials of Unnao but her compliant was not entertained.
CBI said that the case had come up to all the above named officers but they had failed to lodge a complaint or taken action.
CBI on the basis of the victim’s family allegations had also questioned these four officers for not entertaining her complaint of rape against the then MLA. Pandey was the district police chief in 2017 at the time of crime. The victim’s family had also alleged that on April 3, 2018, Devi had not entertained their complaint when the victim’s father was assaulted by Sengar’s brother at the Maakhi police station. Ashtabhuja Singh had also served as the ASP in the same period.
The case came to light when the survivor tried to immolate self near the CM residence, seeking justice, on April 8, 2018 and her father succumbed to his injuries a day later. After the ‘Unnao rape case’ grabbed countrywide attention, the UP government transferred the case to the CBI.
The agency registered five cases and arrested Sengar and his brother. The BJP expelled Sengar and after the survivor and her family members met with a mysterious accident in Rae Bareli, the Supreme Court, on August 1, 2019, transferred all the cases from Lucknow CBI court to a court in Delhi. Sengar was convicted in the case on December 16, 2020, and is serving life-term.
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