Representative image.
Credit: DH Illustration.
Kota: An SC/ST court here sentenced two persons to 20 years in jail on Tuesday for the abduction and gang-rape of a 19-year-old woman five years ago.
The court convicted Phoolchand Sain (56) and Goverdhan Meghwal alias Gobria (26) of abducting and raping the victim from the Bheel community in July 2018.
It sentenced them to 20 years in jail and slapped a penalty of Rs. 60,000 each, public prosecutor Hitesh Jain said.
The two convicts targeted the victim when she was going to meet her brother in Faithaghari under Rampura city police station area on the night of July 12, 2018, and took her to the house of their friend, identified as Bablu Sardar alias Jaspal Singh, near Sarovar Takkies, where Bherulal, the house help, was also present.
The four persons served her a soft drink mixed with an intoxicant and then raped her. They also thrashed her severely when she resisted, he said.
The four again assaulted her the next morning. The victim's mother and brother rescued her from the house and filed a complaint, Jain said.
On the complaint, the police lodged a case of gang rape under Section 376 (D) and for other offences under IPC against the four accused and filed a charge sheet, he said.
During the trial, Bablu Sardar alias Jaspal Singh died in January 2021 while Bherulal could not be arrested and was declared an absconder in December 2023, he said.
The statements of 17 witnesses were recorded during the trial, he added.