Chargesheet filed in Unnao rape-murder case

Kanpur: The Uttar Pradesh Police has filed a chargesheet in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate(CJM) in connection with a case in which a 23-year-old rape survivor from Unnao was set ablaze on the morning of December 5 by those accused of her rape.

The chargesheet is based on the woman`s dying declaration and the statements of witnesses. The incident took place under the Bihar police circle on the morning of December 5 when the victim was on her way to Rae Bareli for a court hearing.

The victim suffered 90 per cent burn injuries and was taken to Lucknow from where she was airlifted to Delhi`s Safdarjung Hospital. She died on December 6.

The five accused - Shubham, Shivam Trivedi, Hari Shankar, Umesh and Ram Kishore -- had allegedly poured petrol on the rape survivor to prevent her from going to Baiswara railway station from where she was supposed to board a train for Rae Bareli.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Unnao Vikrant Vir said the police had prepared the case on the basis of electronic evidence and the statements of the villagers who took the survivor to the hospital.

The mobile phone location of the accused had traced them to the crime spot. Forensic evidence also established their role in the crime. He stated that the petrol used to set the woman ablaze had been siphoned off from Shubham`s bike.

Earlier, the woman had claimed that she had been allegedly gang-raped by Shubham and Shivam in December 2018. The FIR was lodged in March 2019 on the orders of the court.

In its chargesheet against the two accused in the rape case, filed on December 10, Rae Bareli police charged them with gang-rape, destruction of evidence and repeated rape.

Additional SP Vinod Kumar Pandey, who investigated the case, said that the police will move an application in the court of the district judge for transferring the case to the fast track court.