The lawyers of the convicted men have said they will go to high court to appeal against the sentence. (PTI photo)
The special public prosecutor in Suzette Jordan's gang rape case, Sharbani Roy, was summarily axed by the West Bengal government from its panel of lawyers just hours after she allegedly told a court in Kolkata that the three accused in the 2012 case were not directly involved in the actual crime and should be given the minimum punishment of 10 years in jail.
And the court did just that. It sent the three of them to ten years' rigorous imprisonment. The maximum punishment for gang rape is a life term.
Hours later, state law minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said, "How could the public prosecutor say how much punishment (is right)? She had fought for the government to prove them guilty. Without instruction, she gave her opinion. This is not acceptable. So she has been removed from the government panel. She said minimum term was fine."
The special public prosecutor hit back saying, "I don't care if the government is upset. I have acted according to law."
And then came the explosive comment. "The main accused rapist is in hiding. It is known who are helping him to stay under cover," said Shrabani Roy.
"Since the three people arrested are not prime accused, we did not ask for maximum punishment as they are not directly involved in the crime," she added.
Relatives and friends of Suzette Jordan express happiness after three accused were found guilty in the case, in Kolkata on Thursday. (PTI Photo)
Anirban Saha, Suzette Jordon's lawyer, said he was shocked by the special public prosecutor's comment and the quantum of punishment. He said he would consult with the family soon to discuss the next course of action.
The family, jubilant on Thursday when the accused were pronounced guilty, were crestfallen on Friday.
Ms Jordan, who died of Meningitis in March this year, had been gang-raped on the night of February 5, 2012 by five men who had offered to drop her home from a night club at Kolkata's posh Park Street.
Two of the accused are still on the run.
The lawyers of the convicted men have said they will go to high court to appeal against the sentence.
KK Tiwari, representing the accused Sumit Bajaj said he was "astonished" by the Special Public prosecutor's statement in court. "We have been trying to same thing - that the arrested boys were innocent. If she thinks the same, then what are we fighting about?"