Asha Singh (Unnao Rape Victim’s Mother) Age, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Politician
Known for	Being the mother of Unnao rape victim
Politics
Political Party	Indian National Congress (January 2022-present)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Year, 1966
Age (as of 2021)	55 Years [1]India Today
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Unnao, Uttar Pradesh
Educational Qualification	Illiterate [2]India Today
Religion	Hinduism
Caste	Kshatriya (Thakur) [3]India Today
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Widow
Family
Husband/Spouse	Surendra Singh alias Pappu
Children	She has one son and four daughters. [4]India Today

Some Lesser Known Facts About Asha Singh

• Asha Singh is the mother of the survivor of the 2017 Unnao rape incident. In January 2022, Asha Singh’s name appeared in the list of 125 names of the Congress party for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections announced by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. ^[5]The Hindu

• Asha Singh’s name first appeared in media when, in April 2018, she lodged a complaint against former BJP member Kuldeep Singh Sengar, his brother Atul, and others accused of the custodial murder of her husband, Surendra Singh alias Pappu, and rape of her 17-year-old daughter. ^[6]Business Standard

• Asha Singh’s 17-year-old minor daughter was gang-raped by former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, his brother Jaideep alias Atul Singh, and others after she was kidnapped from her village Mankhi in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, on 4 June 2017.

• Asha’s daughter was found on 21 June 2017, 17 days after the gang rape, in a village named Auraiya, 116.8 km away from her village. The next day, the family alleged that when they tried to name Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the FIR, the police showed reluctance and even threw them out of the station.

• On 22 June 2017, the victim named Shubham Singh, Awdhesh Tiwari, Brijesh Yadav, and other unknown assailants for abduction and gang rape in her statement that she recorded in front of a Judicial Magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Following this, the accused were detained after a second FIR was registered later under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). In her statement, the victim also stated that she was even sold to a man in Auraiya for Rs. 60 thousand. ^[7]Dainik Jagran
  

  The Unnao rape survivor interacting with media

• On 17 August 2017, the victim wrote an open letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in which she narrated her ordeal of gang rape. Although police recorded her statement, they did not allow her to name her assailant. ^[8]The Indian Express

• On 3 April 2018, the victim’s father was arrested in a false case of illegal arms, where he was allegedly beaten by the police at the behest of Sengar and 10 others. ^[9]The Tribune

• On 8 April 2018, the victim tried to immolate herself outside Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s official residence in Lucknow, alleging the inaction by police. ^[10]Hindustan Times

• On 9 April 2018, the victim’s father, Surendra Singh alias Pappu, died in custody following which Atul Sengar was arrested and six police officers were suspended. ^[11]BBC

• Following widespread outrage, an FIR was registered against BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar, and the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, and subsequently, it was shifted to the Allahabad High Court. ^[12]BBC After the MLA was questioned by the CBI on 13 April 2018, the Allahabad High Court issued an order to arrest him on the same. ^[13]The Times of India

• In April 2018, joint protests for the Unnao rape case and Kathua rape case took place across the country and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the incidents in a statement.

• On 17 July 2019, Asha Singh and her daughter wrote a letter to CJI Ranjan Gogoi in which they expressed that their lives were in danger from Sengar and his men. ^[14]The Tribune

• On 28 July 2019, an over-speeding truck with a blackened number plate rammed into a car in which the victim, her lawyer, and two aunts were travelling; the accident killed her two aunts and left the victim and her lawyer critically injured. ^[15]The Tribune

• On 1 August 2019, after taking cognisance of the letter written by the victim and her family to the CJI, the apex court transferred cases related to the rape case to Delhi and directed the trial court to conclude the case within 45 days. ^[16]The Tribune

• On 5 August 2019, a day-to-day trial commenced at the Tis Hazari court in Delhi, and the victim was airlifted to Trauma Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, from King George’s Medical College in Lucknow.
  

  A relative of the Unnao rape survivor talks to the media outside KGMC Hospital where she was treated, in Lucknow

• On 25 September 2019, the victim was discharged from AIIMS in New Delhi, and on 6 December 2019, as per the order of the trial court, the victim and her family were shifted to a rented accommodation in Delhi that was arranged by the Delhi Commission for Women. ^[17]The Tribune
  

  Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal consoles the family members of Unnao rape survivor at the Trauma Centre of King George’s Medical University in Lucknow

• On 16 December 2019, Kuldeep Sengar was convicted, and on 20 December 2019, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 25 lakh on him. ^[18]Business Standard
  

  Kuldeep Sengar in police custody after he was sentenced to life imprisonment

• Asha Singh and Sengar families were friends, and Asha Singh’s husband was a political aide to Sengar. According to Asha Singh, she used to frequent Sengar’s house almost every day; however, it ended when Sengar called her daughter, ostensibly to discuss a job for her, and then raped her. ^[19]The Telegraph

• On 13 January 2022, while announcing Asha Singh’s name in the list of 125 names of the Congress party for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said,
  

  The list sends a new signal that if you are someone who has faced injustice, then you have the power to fight it. The Congress will stand by you and support you.”

• After getting a ticket to contest the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Asha Singh thanked Priyanka Gandhi and said,
  

  She has given me and the women of the state a kind of respect no other political party ever did before.”

• While explaining her reason behind contesting the assembly elections, Asha Singh said that she needed political strength to keep fighting the monsters. ^[20]The Telegraph She said,
  

  I know that my daughter, I myself and other family members will be killed if we become careless. Sengar, his family and the BJP are still active against us. I need political strength to keep fighting the monsters, even if many of them are in jail. This was why I requested the Congress general secretary to give me the ticket.”

• In January 2022, Asha Singh and her family returned to her native village in Unnao after nearly four years, where she started campaigning for the assembly elections. ^[21]The Telegraph During her campaign, Asha Singh pledged to remove the BJP government and said,
  

  The BJP removed Sengar from the party after many months, and only under media pressure. But the Supreme Court took cognisance of the case on the basis of media reports and we finally got justice. But socio-political justice is still awaited — Sengar may be in jail but the BJP is still in power in Uttar Pradesh and in the country. I shall ask voters how they can back a party that supports a rapist and killers.”

• After Asha Singh’s name appeared in the media as a candidate of the Indian National Congress in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections, her daughter, the rape survivor, during a telephoning interview with a newspaper, said,
  

  I’m the rape survivor. I can tell you that the BJP is very harmful to women. The entire country should keep this in mind when voting. We shall soon rent a house and an election office in Unnao city and begin a full-fledged campaign.” ^[22]The Telegraph