On 24th March (Tuesday), three convicts in a case of gangrape of a 15-year-old girl received rigorous life sentences from a special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Bihar. Each convict was additionally fined Rs 1 lakh by special judge Maheshwar Dubey. The trio has been identified as Mohammad Imran alias Chand, Mohammad Aftab Ansari and Muhammad Saddam Hussein.
The offenders were ordered to serve prison time till their final breath after they repeatedly sexually violated the underage girl for 23 days. The fast-track trial resulted in the verdict being delivered in two months. The victim disappeared from Jamui’s Aliganj market on 1st December and was found weak and unconscious in a locked room in Katihar on 24th December.
According to the minor’s statement recorded by the police, the convicts took her away and transported her to Katihar, where they persistently abused her sexually. She was starved and only fed two chapatis in a day. She was abducted by Imran, who then gave her to Saddam after gangraping her with Aftab.
They also called threatened her mother over call and declared that she would never come back. The girl’s family filed a formal complaint at the police station after which the authorities rescued her and arrested the rapists. The court took cognisance of the case on 22nd January after the police filed their chargesheet on 17th January and the hearing commenced on 27th January.
Given the gravity of the situation, the District Magistrate and Police Superintendent jointly requested in writing that the POCSO court address the case as soon as possible. The court held a speedy trial and pronounced the three defendants guilty.
