Akhilesh guns for Adityanath as father of alleged rape victim dies in police custody

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav has demanded that CM Yogi Adityanath must resign immediately over the custodial death of the father of a woman, who alleged that she was raped by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.

Taking to Twitter, the Samajwadi Party leader said that an unbiased probe must be done in the case, and taking moral responsibility for lack of women safety in the state, Adityanath must immediately resign as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

मुख्यमंत्री आवास पर आत्मदाह की कोशिश करनेवाली दुष्कर्म की पीड़िता के पिता की ‘पुलिस कस्टडी’ में दर्दनाक मृत्यु अत्यंत दुखदायी है। इसकी सर्वोच्च स्तरीय निष्पक्ष जाँच होनी चाहिए। महिलाओं के मान की रक्षा के लिए नैतिक जिम्मेदारी लेते हुए मुख्यमंत्री को तुरंत इस्तीफ़ा दे देना चाहिए। — Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) April 9, 2018

After the woman tried to commit suicide outside the residence of Adityanath in Lucknow on Sunday, her father was arrested by the police. Later, reports of his death in police custody came to light, inviting strong reactions from opposition parties, including Congress.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala took to Twitter to claim that the man was beaten to death in police custody. "Gruesome & barbaric! Humanity gets shamed as the rape victim attempts suicide & her father is beaten & dies in police custody. Instead of arresting criminals, victims are arrested by U.P BJP Govt. 'Goonda Raj' prevails in U.P, justice held to ransom as BJP leaders run a-mock," he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Unnao Superintendent of Police Pushpanjali Devi said that two police officers and four constables were suspended while four accused of beating the man were arrested. “We will do further investigation in the case after post-mortem is done,” she said.

However, the BJP MLA who has been accused of raping the woman, denied having any connection to the death, even as he dismissed the rape allegation as baseless.

The woman alleged that Sengar and his associates raped her, and that authorities had refused to register her complaint. She said she had been running from pillar to post for over a year, but that authorities had not paid her any heed. She attempted to set herself on fire twice - first outside Adityanath's residence, and then outside the Gautam Palli Police Station.