The sole witness in the harrowing Unnao rape case died under mysterious circumstances. Bereaved family members of the deceased sole witness, Yunus Khan, allegedly tried to immolate themselves in front of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence on August 25, after they were barred from meeting him. The police then detained the kin.
The incident of death of the 32-year-old occurred on August 18, allegedly under mysterious circumstances.
“The family of Yunus had come to Lucknow and was adamant about meeting the Chief Minister and getting inside his residence. They have been taken to the Hazratganj Police Station, so that their grievances can be heard and the district concerned be informed about it,” said senior officer Vijay Pandey of the Gautampalli Police Station.
Yunus’ body was buried on August 25 without the permission of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the investigating agency in the case. “The body of Yunus was exhumed; it was sent for post-mortem examination. The body was exhumed in the presence of Qazi sahab,” Additional District Magistrate of Unnao, BN Yadav told news agency PTI.
Members of the family however, claimed that they were against the burial. “The administration was building pressure on us. We did not want the post-mortem to be done as it is against our Shariat,” said Jaan Mohammad, the brother of Yunus.
Yunus was allegedly imprisoned by the local police and framed for possessing illegal firearms. The deceased was a crucial witness in the case registered after the death of the father of the teenager in April of the teenager.
On July 12, the CBI charged BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar for raping the 16-year-old. Sengar’s brother and four others were also charged in connection with the killing of the father in police custody.
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