Maharashtra: Four get life sentence for raping female defence official

A special court has sentenced four men to life imprisonment for robbing and gangraping a woman defence official from Pune in 2010.

The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court Judge S S Gosavi on Tuesday held the four — Deepak Jawale, Abhay Purey, Vijay Bade and Sunil Ekhande — guilty and slapped a fine of Rs five lakh on each one of them.

According to the prosecution, the victim, her husband, their son, and two others had gone to Parli Vaijnath temple in Beed district on April 9, 2010 in their car. On their way back, they made a brief halt at a village in Beed district and continued towards Pune at night.

The four convicts chased them in their car and stopped them near Chindhori village in the district. They forced the occupants out of the car and beat them. Then they took the woman official into their car and drove away.

After snatching ornaments and other valuables from her, they raped her in the running car and dumped her in a secluded area. The passers-by later rescued the woman and reunited her with the family, the prosecution said.

A case had been registered with Ambhore police in Beed district. The accused were later arrested and booked under charges of gangrape, kidnapping and robbery.

Total 34 witnesses were examined in the case.

PTI