New Delhi: A Delhi court today awarded the maximum punishment of life sentence to five convicts in the sensational 2010 Dhaula Kuan gangrape case in which a BPO executive from the North-east was the victim.
Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them while directing them to pay it to the victim as compensation.
"Life imprisonment is awarded to all the convicts for the offence of gangrape. A fine of Rs 50,000 is also imposed," the judge said.
The court also handed down the jail term of seven years and five years for other offences of abduction and criminal intimidation to all the convicts.
The court awarded the sentence to Usman alias Kale, Shamshad alias Khutkan, Shahid alias Chhota Billi, Iqbal alias Bada Billi and Kamruddin alias Mobile, all residents of Mewat region in Haryana.
Moments after the order was delivered, convict Shahid fell unconscious and was taken by cops to the medical centre in the court premises.
The family members of Shahid and other convicts broke down the moment the sentence was pronounced.
While pronouncing the punishment, the court rejected the submission of leniency by the defence counsel that they hail from poor families, saying, "This ground does not raise enough confidence.
"The family and economic circumstances were very much there when they committed such heinous offence. This ground does not deter the court from taking stern against them."
According to the police, the convicts had abducted the victim on the intervening night of November 23-24, 2010 when she was returning home from office.
The convicts then took her to Mangolpuri, gangraped her and left her at an isolated road.
