Unnao rape: CBI searches 17 places, including Sengar's

11111A day after the CBI questioned expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case, the agency on Sunday said it searched at least 17 places in four districts in Uttar Pradesh, including the residences of Sengar.

A senior Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official in Delhi told IANS that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted the searches in Lucknow, Unnao, Banda and Fatehpur, at some locations in the premises of the accused and others. The residential premises of Sengar in Lucknow's upscale Gomti Nagar was searched.

A CBI team on Saturday questioned Sengar in Sitapur jail, where he has been lodged for over a year. According to CBI sources in Lucknow, the agency also collected details of the people the MLA has been meeting in the prison.

Following the outrage over the July 28 road accident that has left the Unnao rape victim and her lawyer battling for life and killed two of her family members, the BJP expelled Sengar from the party.

The girl, meanwhile, is still critical and on the ventilator. Doctors said that she had developed pneumonia and could not be removed from ventilator ‘even on trial basis'.

Senior CBI officers on Sunday also questioned the owner and cleaner of the truck that hit the car in which the victim and others were travelling.

The CBI is focusing on the statement of D.K. Pal, the truck owner that the number plates were blackened to escape seizure by the company that financed the truck. His statement was contradicted by the finance company that stated that all installments had been paid on time.

Before appearing before the CBI officers in Lucknow, Pal said there was no conspiracy in the road accident as he was not in contact with anyone, including the expelled BJP MLA.

He said the driver had been working for him for last four to five months, while the cleaner was employed for over three years.

The case relates to the rape of a minor girl allegedly by Sengar at his residence in Unnao on June 4, 2017 when she had gone to seek a job.

The Supreme Court last week ordered transfer of all cases relating to the Unnao rape to Delhi.IANS