Delhi police detain activists protesting over 2017 Unnao rape, Ankita Bhandari cases

New Delhi [India], December 27 (ANI): Delhi police on Saturday detained women activist Yogita Bhayana, Congress leader Mumtaz Patel, and several others who were protesting against the ruling of conditional bail to Kuldeep Singh Sengar, convicted in the 2017 Unnao rape case, and demanding justice in the Ankita Bhandari murder case.
For the 2017 Unnao rape case, demonstrators voiced their outrage over the Delhi High Court's decision and sought stricter action in cases involving rape and murder.
Recently, the Delhi High Court granted a suspension of sentence to Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case. He was convicted by a Delhi CBI court in a minor's rape case and was serving a life sentence. He has been granted relief on the condition that he furnish a bail bond of Rs 15 lakh.
However, he will remain in custody as he has not yet been granted bail in the victim's father's custodial death matter. An appeal and application for suspension of sentence is pending before the High Court of Delhi. He was awarded a 10-year sentence in that case.
While granting bail, the High Court has directed that Sengar will not go into the 5-kilometre area where the victim resides in Delhi. It is also directed that Sengar Shall remain in Delhi. He shall not contact the victim's family members.
Earlier today, the victim of the 2017 Unnao rape case, along with her mother, met officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the national capital on Saturday and submitted a complaint alleging that the investigating officer (IO) colluded with a judge to ensure the accused side wins.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the victim said she had sought to meet a senior official but was told it was a holiday and that she should return on Monday. However, she said a junior official accepted her complaint. "The junior official has received my application and said that the senior official will meet on Monday," the victim told ANI.
Alleging serious misconduct, she claimed that the Investigating Officer (IO) had acted against her interests. "The complaint is that the investigating officer has wronged me. He colluded with the judge to ensure that the other party won, so that the rape victim would lose, her courage would be broken, and she would not be able to pursue the case further," the victim pointed out.
Earlier on Friday, the CBI filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court's December 23, 2025, order that suspended Sengar's life sentence pending appeal and granted him bail.
The High Court's decision has drawn sharp criticism from the victim's family and opposition parties, intensifying pressure for Supreme Court intervention.
Meanwhile, the Ankita Bhandari murder case involves the killing of a 19-year-old receptionist at Vanantara Resort in Rishikesh, who was allegedly pressured to provide "special services" to VIP guests. Three accused, including the resort owner Pulkit Arya, were sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2025. (ANI)