On December 28, AISA, AIPWA, various progressive organisations, civil society groups, along with the Unnao rape survivor, came together at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to protest against the bail granted to former BJP MLA and convicted rapist Kuldeep Singh Sengar. Through their slogans, the protesters raised serious concerns about the shielding of rapists, the ongoing rape culture, and its normalization under the BJP government.
Comrade Aditi, JNUSU President and AISA leader, said that the Modi–Yogi government is hell-bent on protecting rapists. She stated that the same pattern is being repeated—from Hathras to Unnao, rapists are being garlanded and shielded, while women survivors are being threatened, attacked, or detained merely for demanding justice. Comrade Aditi demanded that the bail granted to Kuldeep Singh Sengar be immediately cancelled and that the Unnao rape survivor be provided full legal protection.
In a highly concerning move, on December 23, the Delhi High Court had suspended the sentence of Kuldeep Singh despite his being charged with murder, threats, and intimidation against the rape survivor and her family. In December 2019, Sengar was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a minor woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao in 2017. In 2020, he and his brother Jaideep Singh Sengar, among others, were also convicted in the killing of the woman’s father while in judicial custody.
The protesters demanded that the bail granted to Kuldeep Singh must be cancelled and asserted that the fight for justice will continue until their voices are heard. The protesters also raised the question: “Why bail for rapists, but brutal detention for women seeking justice?” They pointed out that the police, acting as agents of this same patriarchal culture, are unleashing crackdowns on protesting survivors—whether during protests against wrestlers or, in this case, against the Unnao survivor.
