New Delhi: In a ‘historic moment’ in judiciary, a Delhi court Wednesday recorded the statement of the Unnao rape survivor at an ‘extra-ordinary’ temporary court set up at the AIIMS hospital in the case of alleged sexual assault on her by expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in 2017.
The woman deposed before District Judge Dharmesh Sharma during ‘in-camera’ proceedings conducted at the seminar hall of the Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, where she identified the two accused in the case, the victim’s lawyer said. The victim was admitted to the hospital following an accident July 28 this year. Her deposition was made partly on the wheelchair and partly on the stretcher, the lawyer informed.
The proceeding from 11.00am to 5.00pm continued without any glitches with periodic breaks as per the medical requirements and attention needed for the victim, the lawyer stated.
The hearing happened up at the hospital with the Delhi High Court’s permission after the doctors attending the woman said it was ‘not advisable’ to bring her to the court premises. The rape survivor will be cross examined Thursday at AIIMS.
The woman was allegedly kidnapped and raped by Kuldeep Singh Sengar in conspiracy with co-accused Shashi Singh in 2017, when she was a minor. The former BJP MLA and the co-accused were also brought to the hospital Wednesday amidst high security from Tihar jail.
Security was beefed up at the hospital with the deployment of about 20 Delhi police personnel along with CRPF officials from the pathway to the lobby and the entrance of the seminar hall. CCTVs inside the special court were switched off during the proceedings.
After the judge arrived at 10.00am, even the hospital staff was not allowed to enter the pathway.
The woman was brought to the court in a wheelchair and was examined by her attending doctors first and the proceedings started after the doctors gave a statement to the judge about her medical condition, informed Sunil Pratap Singh, the counsel for the accused.
The accused were also present in the hall with a curtain placed between them and the rape survivor as per the court’s directions, he added.
Counsel for the woman and her family, advocate Dharmendra Mishra, told this agency that the arrangements at the temporary court were ‘extraordinary’ and it was one of the ‘historic moments’ in judicial history. He said the elder sister of the rape survivor was allowed to accompany her throughout the proceedings.
The rape survivor was air-lifted from a Lucknow hospital to Delhi after the accident on the orders of the Supreme Court. The court had earlier issued a slew of directions for holding ‘in-camera’ proceedings at AIIMS.
The Supreme Court also had directed the CBI to ensure adequate security arrangement at the lobby of the seminar hall.
PTI