Bleeding Lungs, Multiple Fractures: Unnao Rape Survivor on Ventilator, Next 48 Hours Critical

Lucknow: Almost 40 hours after Unnao rape survivor suffered critical injuries to her body in a car crash in Rae Bareli on Sunday, doctors said her condition remains serious and the next 48 hours are extremely critical.

The woman and her lawyer Mahendra Singh were rushed to the King George’s Medical University Trauma Centre in Lucknow on Monday after a car they were travelling in hit a truck.

Speaking with News18 on Tuesday, sources from the hospital said the woman suffered a rib fracture, and bleeding in her lungs. “The condition of the woman is serious and she is on ventilator. She has been unconscious since the time of the accident. She suffered serious head injuries and multiple fractures in legs,” the sources said.

“Several chest pipes have been inserted in her body to assist her lung functioning. There is bleeding in her lungs. More than the head injury, it's the fractures and injuries to her lungs that have made her condition critical,” the sources added.

Her blood pressure is fluctuating and she is unable to maintain breathing without life support, they said.

The accident occurred when the rape survivor, her lawyer and two aunts were travelling from Fatehpur to Rae Bareli jail to meet her uncle who is lodged there.

Amid intense political scrutiny of the accident and demands for a CBI probe, conflicting reports have emerged on the sequence of events. While some reports have quoted officials as saying that an over-speeding truck rammed into the car, the other version says the truck was stationary when the car crashed into it.

The woman, who belongs to Makhi police station area in Unnao, had in 2017 alleged that Kuldeep Sengar, a four-time BJP MLA who represents Bangermau in the UP Assembly, had raped her at his residence.

The case came to light after the survivor allegedly attempted self-immolation outside Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence.

Meanwhile, slamming the BJP, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked why the accused MLA is still in the party. “Why do we give people like Kuldeep Sengar the strength and protection of political power and abandon their victims to battle for their lives alone?” she asked on Twitter.