Life term for two other four get 20 years in prison - Raigarh gang-rape case
Two convicts get life imprisonment, while four others are sentenced to 20 years in prison
Raigarh | Correspondent: A special court in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district has sentenced six men in a 2024 gang-rape case involving a tribal woman. Two of the convicts, Sachidanand Sahu alias Munu and Uttam Mirdha, were sentenced to life imprisonment, while four others, Krishna Chauhan, Narendra Sidar, Bablu Chauhan and Rahul Khadiya, were sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined.
The incident took place in the Pusaur police station area on August 19, 2024, when the 27-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped while she was on her way to a fair.
The court delivered the verdict after considering the evidence and witness testimonies presented during the trial.
This sensational incident occurred on the evening of August 19, 2024, while the 27-year-old victim was walking alone to visit a fair. On the Kesaipali road, Krishna Chauhan, an acquaintance of the victim, along with his accomplices, surrounded her. When the woman resisted, the accused threatened to kill her and dispose of her body.
They then dragged the victim to the Pachri Ghat (steps) of a pond and subjected her to a brutal gang-rape. The atrocity did not end there; the accused forcibly took the victim through the fields to a dilapidated room, where Krishna raped her again.
After the incident, the accused took the victim to his house, but she managed to escape at the first opportunity. She informed local women and the village Sarpanch about the horrific ordeal.
The Sarpanch immediately arrived at the scene and ensured the victim reached her home safely. Although she did not tell her family about the incident on the day it occurred due to fear and terror, she recounted her ordeal to her mother the following day, after which a formal FIR was lodged at the police station. Upon the registration of the case, the police swung into action; they promptly recorded the victim's statement and conducted DNA tests on both the victim and the accused to gather scientific evidence.
Given the gravity of the matter, sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST Act) were also invoked. The investigation implicated a total of nine individuals; the cases of two minors among them were referred separately to the Juvenile Justice Board.
Meanwhile, another accused passed away during the trial. Based on the strong evidence and witness testimonies presented by Special Public Prosecutor Rajiv Beriwal, the court deemed this an extremely serious crime and set a judicial precedent by handing down severe sentences to all six adult accused. Representative image.
