3 youths get 20 years in jail

Aneesha Sareen

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 1

Asserting that the offence of rape is not only against the victim but against the society, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, Anshu Shukla, today sentenced three convicts to 20-year imprisonment in a case of gang rape.

The court sentenced Arun Kumar (19) and Rahul (24), both residents of transit camp in Sector 52 and Ravi (21), a resident of Sector 38 West, to 20-year rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 55,000 each on them. The three had allegedly gang raped a 45-year-old woman and mother of seven children — eldest being 18 years old — by forcefully entering her shed in the transit camp of Sector 42. She had alleged she was raped inside the public toilet by accused Arun while the remaining two threatened and confined her family.

While pronouncing the order, the court stated that the honour of a woman has been spoiled by the convicts forever. “Such types of crimes against women are increasing in society at an alarming speed. The offence of rape is an offence not only against the victim, but against the society as well. The court cannot take such type of crimes lightly,” said the court.

The court added that to curb and discourage the commission of sexual assaults, the court should deal with perpetrators of such offence with a stern and heavy hand. “The act committed by the accused is highly condemnable,” read the judgment.While deciding on the quantum of sentence, the court stated that the nature, extent and gravity of the crime are such that accuse deserves no leniency and thus they be sentenced to 20 years for gang raping the woman.

As per the prosecution case, on the intervening night of June 9 and 10, 2014, the victim’s children were sleeping in the park near her residence when the three persons forciblly entered her house. They beat up her elder son and asked him to knock the door of her room where she was sleeping. When she opened the door, one person later identified as Arun Kumar pulled her out of the room by holding her hand and took her to the bathroom where he raped her. The police had then arrested the three on her complaint.