Delhi: Reacting strongly to the Delhi High Court’s decision to suspend the sentence of former MLA and 2017 Unnao rape case convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the survivor on Tuesday said the order had left her devastated and fearful for her safety.

Earlier today, the Delhi High Court suspended the jail term of Sengar, saying he has already served seven years and five months in prison.

Speaking to ANI, the survivor said, “I heard the judgment, I felt very bad. I wanted to kill myself then and there, but I stopped after thinking about my family. Injustice has been done to us.”

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Alleging political motives behind the relief granted to Sengar, the survivor added, “Elections are coming, and he has been released on bail so that his wife can contest the polls.”

She questioned the safety of women if convicted rape accused are released. “If such a rape accused will come out, how will we be safe? Everyone has become unsafe,” she said, demanding that Sengar’s bail be cancelled.

The survivor said she would challenge the order in the Supreme Court. “His bail should be cancelled, and he should be sent to jail. We will go to the Supreme Court. I have faith in the Supreme Court. We are scared that he has been released,” she said.

Sengar's sentence has been suspended till the pendency of his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence in the rape case. He has challenged a December 2019 trial court verdict in the case.

He will, however, remain in jail since he is also serving 10 years' imprisonment in the custodial death case of the victim's father and has not been granted bail in that case.

Imposing several conditions, the bench of Delhi High Court Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar directed Sengar to furnish a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of the like amount.

It also directed him not to come within a five-km radius of the victim's residence in Delhi and not to threaten her or her mother. "Violation of any of the conditions would lead to cancellation of bail," the high court said.

About the victim's apprehension about danger to her life, the court said it expects that she will continue to get CRPF cover.

"At the same time, however, the argument of keeping the appellant (Sengar) in custody because of threat perception to the victim/ survivor, in the opinion of this court, is not a tenable argument to deny the benefit of section 389 CrPC to the appellant," the bench said in its 53-page verdict.