Representative image of a person in jail.
Credit: iStock Photo
Muzaffarnagar (UP): A special CBI court in Muzaffarnagar on Monday convicted two former PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary of UP Police) constables Milap Singh and Virendra Pratap, and sentenced them to life imprisonment for gang-rape of an activist from Uttarakhand in connection with the Rampur Tiraha firing case.
Special CBI Judge Shakti Singh convicted the two former PAC constables Milap Singh and Virendra Pratap after holding them guilty under several sections of the IPC including 376 (2)G, 354 (assault of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 392 (punishment for robbery), and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), Public Prosecutor Dhara Singh said.
"At the time, when the incident took place, Section 376 (2)G pertained to gang-rape," he told PTI.
Special Judge Shakti Singh also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of the accused.
The court had on March 15 reserved its order till today on the quantum of sentence, the public prosecutor said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has produced 15 witnesses, including a 75-year-old victim woman and former UP home secretary Deepti Vilas, who had sanctioned permission to prosecute the accused.
Seven Uttarakhand statehood activists were killed and women activists were raped during police firing at Rampur Tiraha in Muzaffarnagar on October 2,1994.
The activists were on their way to Delhi from Rishikesh demanding a separate state of Uttarakhand.
When the agitators reached Rampur Tiraha in Muzaffarnagar district at night, the police tried to stop them and opened fire when the protestors did not agree. Seven activists were killed and women workers were raped.
In this connection, a case of gang-rape along with other sections was registered against more than two dozen policemen.
Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh on November 9, 2000.