Surat:
Three young men, convicted for kidnapping and gangraping a 16-year-old girl in Surat in Gujarat, have been sentenced to life imprisonment. A Sessions court in Surat found them guilty based on the testimonies of the victim, her friend and 29 other witnesses.
The convicted men - 22-year-old Shahid Saiyed, 21-year-old Tariq Saiyed, and 33-year-old Abu Bakr - were arrested on June 12 last year - the same day within hours of the incident.
This is an example of speedy justice delivered - within seven months of the crime, and it's significant because two of the accused are sons of police Inspectors from the region.
Also, this a rare case in which rapists have been sentenced to life.
"The court has accepted all evidence presented before it and has sentenced all three accused to life and fined them Rs 1 lakh each," said Public Prosecutor Nayan Sukhadiya.
On June 12, 2008, the victim and her boyfriend - both school students - were sitting outside their tutorial early morning, waiting for the classes to begin. Just then Shahid Saiyad, Tarik Saiyad and Abu Bakr Shiekh came in a car.
The boys said they were policemen and asked the students to get into the car. They gangraped the girl on the back seat and later dropped both of them back.
While delivering the judgement, judge R P Dholaria said: "It's not just a crime against an individual, but against the entire society. It cannot be let off with minimum punishment. The court cannot consider the plea that the accused are young. It's a demonic act that deserves maximum punishment."
This a regular court that has delivered a fast-track trial and could well serve as a precedent for other cases of sexual crimes in the country.