Rapists destroy sanctity of society: Judge

Naina Mishra
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 14

Additional District and Sessions Judge Poonam R Joshi, while pronouncing the quantum of punishment for the Sector 29 auto gang rape convicts, said, “During the festival of Raksha Bandhan, girls tie rakhi on the wrist of their brothers and the latter take an oath to take care of their sisters. However, such criminals have destroyed the sanctity attached to society.”

While Irfan, a father of four, is the sole breadwinner of the family, Hasan has three minor children, elderly parents and is also the sole breadwinner.

The Judge observed, “Two well-built men raped a helpless girl who had shown her faith in public conveyance. The rapists degrade the very soul of a helpless victim and leave behind a traumatic experience.” “...both accused are married and have children. Despite that, they ravished a young girl to such an extent that she has lost faith in society and would obviously fear while coming out or talking to a man,” the Judge said.

Chandigarh unsafe for girls: Court

Chandigarh has become an unsafe city for girls. Incidents of molestation and rape have risen in the city. The annual data of the NCRB, in the past year, ranked the city second among the seven UTs in crime rate. Chandigarh reported 164 cases of sexual offences, of which 78 were rape cases in a year. This data is just the tip of the iceberg as many cases go unreported.

Mother wants death penalty 

The victim’s mother was unaware of the sentence when The Tribune correspondent contacted her late evening. Upon learning life imprisonment for the convicts, she said, “It is indeed a sad day for us as we were expecting death penalty for the main accused. I haven’t told my daughter anything about the case as tomorrow is Raksha Bandhan. My daughter doesn’t move out and is not leading a normal life. After the incident, she couldn’t pass her exams and stayed at home. She also left her job. What justice is this if the accused couldn’t be hanged till death for not just committing a heinous crime but destroying my daughter’s life?” The victim’s mother stood by her daughter rock-solid throughout. The girl is now preparing for government exams.