Lucknow, August 26: Despite a strong opposition from the family, the Unnao district administration on Saturday exhumed the body of Yunus Khan, a key witness in the Unnao rape case who died recently. According to reports, the Unnao Police informed Khan’s family that they had exhumed his body and sent it for post-mortem. "The body of Yunus was exhumed tonight and it was sent for post-mortem examination. The body was exhumed in presence of Qazi sahab (religious leader)," Unnao Additional District Magistrate BN Yadav told PTI.

In protest against the exhumation of her husband’s body, Khan’s wife Shabeena along with 13 other family members reached Lucknow to visit Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Shabeena attempted to commit suicide near the chief minister’s residence, but the policemen stationed there foiled her suicide bid. However, all family members were detained by the police. Khan’s wife said that the exhumation of the body has hurt their sentiments as it is against their tradition.

"The family members of Yunus had come to Lucknow and were adamant about meeting the CM and getting inside his residence. Police have taken them to Hazratganj Police Station, so their grievances can be heard, and the district concerned be informed about it," SHO Gautampalli Police Station Vijay Pandey said.

Yonus was among the 12 witnesses who told CBI they witnessed the accused thrashing the girl’s father when he reached the village on April 3. A CBI officer had informed that among the 12 witnesses are six family members of the deceased (father), while the remaining are neighbours.

Yonus died on August 18 and was buried without informing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of the same. The 32-year-old was the key witness in the attack on the rape survivor's father in jail, who was imprisoned by local police after being allegedly framed for possessing an illegal firearm.

According to a report by ANI, the father of the girl, who was allegedly raped by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and his brother Atul Singh Sengar last year, died in a hospital after allegedly being beaten up in police custody. Although the police denied reports of custodial death, post-mortem of the victim's father indicated that he was brought to the hospital with a damaged intestine resulting from a colon rupture.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2018 01:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).