less than eight months after two young women were gang-raped in two separate cases by a group of hoodlums inside deserted Shakti Mill compound in south-central Mumbai, a fast-track court here on Thursday convicted five accused — three of whom were common in both the cases — for raping a 22-year-old photojournalist and an 18-year-old telephone operator.
After holding the in-camera trials in both the cases simultaneously and completing the same in flat five months, Principal Sessions Judge Shalini Phansalkar Joshi held five accused guilty of gang rape, criminal conspiracy, common intention, unnatural sex, and offences under the Information Technology Act in a packed court room. Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil was also present in the court to hear the verdict.
The five convicts face a maximum punishment of life imprisonment under the newly amended rape law — which may extend up to the "remaining part of a person's natural life", while the minimum punishment for gang rape is 20 years' rigorous imprisonment.
Of the five accused, three — Vijay Jadhav (19) Mohammad Qasim Shaikh alias Qasim Bengali (21) and Mohammad Ansari (28) were convicted in both the cases, while the the court found Siraj Rehman Khan (24) guilty in the August 22, 2013 photojournalist gang-rape case and Mohammad Ashfaque Shaikh (26) guilty in the July 31, 2013 gang-rape of the telephone operator at the same Shakti Mills compound.Minutes after the court held all the five accused guilty in the two cases, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam sought more time from the court to adduce additional evidence to support the Prosecution's claim that all the accused had a criminal past and deserved maximum punishment.
After the defence lawyers agreed, the court scheduled the arguments on quantum of sentence for the convicts for Thursday, before it can pronounce sentences on the convicts. It remains to be seen if the court will pronounce the sentences in both the cases on Thursday itself.
The five accused are among the seven accused named in the two cases. The two other accused, one each in two cases and both juveniles, are yet to be tried for their alleged involvement in the crime. The trial of the two juvenile accused will begin before the Dongri Juvenile Justice Board in the city from April 1.
Given that three accused in the two cases are the same, both the cases are inter-linked. The three accused were part of the group of vagabonds that allegedly raped the two different girls on July 31, 2013 and August 22 respectively. While the August 22 incident came to light first, the details of the first incident that took place on July 31 came out subsequently.
The photojournalist, working for a Mumbai magazine, was gang-raped on the evening of August 22 by five men under the cover of tall grass and shrubs surrounding the dilapidated remains of the defunct Shakti Mills compound, where she had gone along with her male colleague to take pictures for a magazine story.
The five alleged culprits had fled the scene, after threatening the girl that they would post the photographs taken of her on their mobile phone on a social network site, if either she or colleague complained the matter to the police. However, they were arrested subsequently.
In the July 31 incident, the rape survivor - who works as a telephone operator with a private firm at Bhandup and lives at Mulund in north-east Mumbai - had gone to Mahalaxmi, along with her boyfriend, when the accused accosted the two in the Shakti Mills area. like in the photojournalist gang rape case, the accused tied up the victim's male friend to a tree and gang-raped the girl.
It was only a month later that the frightened victim girl, who had gone off to Chhattisgarh along boyfriend after the incident, lodged a complaint with the Bhandup police in north-east Mumbai.
State Home Minister RR Patil, who made a surprise appearance in the court room, welcomed the judgement by saying: "The verdict has done justice to both the victims and their families. Within 27 days of the crime, the Mumbai filed a chargesheet in both the cases. The court has also completed the trial in both the cases in shortest possible time. After the two incidents, the Mumbai and Maharashtra police have initiated several to increase security for women. With all humility, I would like to claim that among the major cities in the country, women are most safe in Mumbai. Even in future we will do everything to remove shortfalls in our efforts".
A 600-page chargesheet was filed in the August 22 photojournalist gang rape case before a fast court on September 19, 2013. The chargesheet incorporated the statements of 86 witnesses, analysis of eight cell phones seized during the investigation and 22 DNA analysis reports of the spot where the rape took place, of hair, nails, body fluids etc. A soil analysis report matching the soil found on the footwear of the accused has also been made part of the evidence.
The police subsequently filed a 363-page chargesheet in the July 31, 2013 telephone operator's gang-rape case.During the trial, both the victims identified the accused in the case. The prosecution mustered foolproof evidence in the photojournalist gang rape case. For, the clothes of the accused had been recovered, while the DNA samples taken from the victim's vaginal swab had matched with those taken from the accused clearly establishing they had indeed committed the offence. The call data records from their mobile phones had also shown their location inside the mill premises on the evening of August 22, 2013.
To make their case watertight, the police had also recorded the statements of both the victims before a magistrate under Section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The investigators took this precaution to ensure that even if the rape survivor is unable to depose during the trial due to certain circumstances, the trial court could call in the magistrate as a prosecution witness. Both the rape survivors, however, had identified the accused and deposed during the in-camera trial.