Kanpur, August 23: The survivor's family in the Unnao rape case, in which BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar is the prime accused, has demanded that the body of the a key witness be exhumed for an autopsy, so that the reason for his death can be ascertained.

The key witness in the case, Yunus, reportedly died on August 18, and was a key witness in the related case where the girl's father was allegedly beaten by the police and succumbed to his injuries in police custody in Maki police station on April 9, 2018.

The matter came up on Wednesday, when the survivor's uncle claimed that Yunus may have been poisoned. The Times of India, in  its report, mentioned that Maki police station SHO told the paper that Yunus had died because of an illness.

The report further mentions that the survivor's uncle has asked for the permission of Yunus's family, in order to get his post mortem done.

BJP legislator from Uttar Pradesh, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is an accused in the Unnao gang rape case and the subsequent death of the victim's father in police custody, was shifted to Sitapur Jail in May.

The rape victim had petitioned before the Allahabad High Court to shift the ruling party MLA out of Unnao as she was feeling threatened. Shashi Singh, who is a co-accused in the rape case that took place in Bangarmau in 2017 and allegedly took the victim to Sengar, had also been sent to Sitapur jail.

Atul Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party legislator's brother, and four other co-accused are still lodged in Unnao jail. A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the high-profile case, took the accused legislator to Sitapur jail.

In May, the rape victim and her uncle had presented their side of the story before the high court, which is hearing the matter. The victim told the court that she was satisfied with the CBI probe so far but she had voiced doubts about the role of the police.

She alleged that the jailed legislator was running his business as usual behind the prison and she feared for her life and the safety and security of her family. Following this, the court directed the state government to shift Sengar out of Unnao jail to some other place.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 23, 2018 12:04 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).