Meerut/New Delhi, Dec 22 A Special POCSO Court in Bulandshahr on Monday sentenced five convicts to life imprisonment in the 2016 gang-rape of a woman and her minor daughter, marking a prosecution achievement for the CBI, which probed the case, which had sparked nationwide outrage.
Special Judge O.P. Verma, who held the convicts guilty on Saturday, also imposed a fine of Rs 1.81 lakh on each convict, with half the amount earmarked as compensation for the victims, a lawyer said.
The court on Saturday held Juber (alias Sunil/Parwej), Sajid, Dharamvir (alias Jitender), Naresh (alias Sandip Baheliya), and Sunil Kumar (alias Sagar) guilty of the heinous crimes.
The case dates back to the night of July 29, 2016, when a family of six, travelling from Noida to Shahjahanpur, was ambushed on National Highway 91.
A group of armed assailants used a metal axle to puncture the family's car tyres, forcing them to stop near the fields of Dostpur village.
At gunpoint, the men were tied up and beaten while the woman and her 14-year-old daughter were dragged into the adjoining fields and subjected to hours of sexual assault and dacoity.
The investigation was initially handled by the Uttar Pradesh Police but was transferred to the CBI following a directive from the Allahabad High Court on August 12, 2016.
The transfer came amid intense public outcry and allegations of police negligence, including claims that the victims’ desperate calls to helplines went unanswered.
The CBI filed its first charge-sheet on November 5, 2016, against three of the accused, followed by a supplementary charge-sheet in April 2018 against three others.
Throughout the nine-year trial, one of the accused died while in judicial custody.
The case gained national attention not only for its brutality but also for the insensitive remarks made by then-U.P. Minister Azam Khan, who called the incident a "political conspiracy," a comment that led to a Supreme Court apology.
--IANS
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