New Delhi: A Delhi court today sentenced life imprisonment for five convicts in the in the kidnapping and rape of a 52 year old Danish woman in the capital.
The court had fixed June 9 for hearing arguments on quantum of sentence in the case but Additional sessions judge Ramesh Kumar had reserved the judgment for Friday on conclusion of arguments.
Under the new law, the offence of gang rape entails a minimum jail term of 20 years and a maximum of imprisonment till remainder of natural life.
Five men, who along with four others were accused of kidnapping and gangraping a Danish woman at knife-point near the New Delhi railway station two years ago, were held guilty by a city court on Monday.
They were held guilty for the offences under sections 376 (D) (gang rape), 395 (dacoity), 366(kidnapping), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of IPC.
The sixth accused, 56-year-old Shyam Lal had died in February this year and proceedings against him were abated. Three other accused in the case are juveniles and the inquiry against them is in progress before the Juvenile Justice Board.
While pronouncing the judgement, Additional Sessions Judge Ramesh Kumar II said "All (five) accused are held guilty for all offences."
The court fixed June 9 for hearing arguments on quantum of sentence in the case in which, under the new law, the offence of gang rape entails a minimum jail term of 20 years and a maximum of imprisonment till remainder of natural life.
The judge convicted Mahender alias Ganja (27), Mohd Raja (23), Raju (24), Arjun (22) and Raju Chakka (23) who all were present in the court.
‘Barbaric act’
Special prosecutor Atul Srivastava said the convicts had committed the offences against the woman in a barbaric manner. They had dented the reputation of the country in the international community.
As the crime was committed against a foreigner, a message should be sent that the rule of law prevailed in India, Mr. Srivastava said.
The tourist, who arrived in India on January 1, 2014, visited Agra and returned to Delhi on January 13. While staying in the capital, she lost her way back to the hotel. A group of men near Connaught Place offered to take her back to the hotel, but instead took her to an isolated park and raped her.
The judge convicted Mahender alias Ganja (27), Mohd Raja (23), Raju (24), Arjun (22) and Raju Chakka (23) who all were present in the court.
According to the prosecution, the five men, all vagabonds, had robbed and gangraped the Danish tourist at knife-point on the night of January 14, 2014, after leading her to a secluded spot close to the Divisional Railway Officers Club near the Railway Station.
The woman had come to India on January 1, 2014, and stayed in Delhi for a couple of days before leaving for Agra. After visiting several places, she returned to the national capital on January 13, 2014, and stayed in a hotel in Paharganj near the rail station.
On the next day when she was returning to her hotel, she lost her way and asked one of the accused for directions when the men waylaid and gangraped her.
The verdict was welcomed by Special Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava who said that with todays decision, a good message would be sent to the society.
"It is a good message for the whole society especially for people who are abroad that if anything wrong happens to them in India, law is there to protect and do justice to them," he said.
Legal aid counsel Dinesh Sharma, who represented all the accused, said he would file an appeal against the judgement before the Delhi High Court.
