For ordering gang-rape, 13 get life imprisonment
KOLKATA: A court in West Bengal sentenced 13 people to life imprisonment for gang-raping a tribal girl in Birbhum’s Subalpur in January on the orders of a kangaroo court.
The additional district and sessions judge of Bolpur, Sidhhartha Roy Choudhury was quoted by The Telegraph saying: 'You have been found guilty under Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 376D (gang rape) of the IPC. The maximum punishment is life imprisonment and the minimum punishment is 20 years in jail.'
"The court of Bolpur additional district judge Siddarth Roychowdhury sentenced all the 13 accused to 20 years rigorous imprisonment. All the accused were convicted of gang-rape, assault and wrongful confinement," public prosecutor Shamsul Zoha said.
During the course of the trial, the court examined 31 witnesses, including medical experts and police officers.
The court also directed the district administration to take care of the dependents, if any, of the 13 accused which includes the village headman who had ordered the gang-rape.
In January, a 20-year-old tribal girl in West Bengal's Birbhum district was gang-raped by 13 members of the village panchayat as a punishment for having an affair with a man from another community.
The 13 men were a part of a local village court that ordered the gang-rape as a punishment.
The incident took place in Subalpur village in Birbhum district after a few villagers saw the girl's friend at her house and complained to the headman.
The girl said that she along with her friend was dragged to a gathering where our village headman was also present.
The woman said she was left at the mercy of the men of her village after she was unable to pay Rs.50,000 as a fine demanded by the morol (headman) for having an affair with a man outside her community.
"The morol ordered that I be enjoyed by the men of the village. Following his orders, at least 10-12 people, including (some) members of a single family, continuously raped me. I lost count of how many times I was raped," said the woman.