Constable accused of Unnao rape survivor’s father’s custodial death moves Delhi HC

An Uttar Pradesh Police constable, accused in the assault and murder of the Unnao rape survivor's father, on Wednesday approached the Delhi High Court challenging the charges filed against him.

Constable Amir Khan has been charged under Sections 302 (murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), 341 (wrongful confinement), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 193 (false evidence), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 166 (public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person) and 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

He has also been charged under Sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 218 (public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture) and 466 (forgery of record of court or of public register) of the IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act.

The matter is likely to come up for hearing on Thursday.

Expelled BJP lawmaker Kuldeep Singh Sengar is the main accused in the case. The other accused include his brother Atul Sengar, close aide Shashi Singh, three police personnel, including Constable Khan, and four others.

Framing the charges earlier this month, District and Sessions Judge Dharmesh Sharma had observed that the rape survivor's father had been implicated in a false case of arms possession to silence him from proceeding in the rape case against Sengar.

The same day, the Supreme Court had refused to seek a report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the status of 20 cases lodged against the Unnao rape survivor, now battling for her life, and her family members.

A bench headed by Justice Deepak Gupta had said it did not want to widen the scope of the case and interfere in other cases lodged against the rape survivor and her family.

The court said it wanted to focus on the five cases related to the survivor which were being heard earlier.

Meanwhile the rape survivor, who was flown from Lucknow to Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) last week, is in a critical condition and on advanced life support.

Her lawyer Mahendra Singh too is critical, unconscious and on advanced life support. Both are undergoing treatment under a multidisciplinary team of doctors from the Critical Care, Orthopaedics, Trauma Surgery and Pulmonary Medicine departments.

On July 28, the car in which the rape survivor, her lawyer and two of her aunts were travelling, was hit by a speeding truck in Rae Bareli. While both the aunts, one of whom was a witness in the case, were killed, and the rape survivor and her lawyer were seriously injured in the accident.