BJP MP meets rape accused in jail to 'thank' him for poll win

Bharatiya Janata Party's Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj on Wednesday met rape accused party MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar at the Sitapur district jail to "thank" him after the general election.

Sengar, a four-time MLA, is lodged in the jail for allegedly raping a girl who had visited him for a job on June 4, 2017.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Sakshi Maharaj said, "Our 'yashasvi' (renowned) and popular MLA Kuldeep Sengarji is lodged here for quite some time. I thought it appropriate to thank him after the elections."

However, Jail Superintendent DC Mishra said the meeting lasted barely two minutes.

He said the MP enquired about Sengar when he was about to leave after spending half an hour with him.

"He said he would thank the MLA. He thanked him and then left. It lasted barely two minutes," the jail superintendent said.

Mishra said that as Sakshi Maharaj was an MP, he was "accorded the protocol".

"Today is Eid and World Environment Day. He sat for sometime and discussed what is being done in the jail. He was told about various horticulture works undertaken in the jail," he told the PTI.

The Unnao MP also planted a sapling in the jail.

"He promised to give 1,000 saplings to the jail. He also enquired about Eid and the roza (fast during the Islamic month of Ramzan) undertaken by the inmates here," Mishra said added.