A city court has framed gang- rape and kidnapping charges against five law students of Jamia Millia Islamia and has put them on trial for allegedly confining and raping a minor girl at their residence last year. Additional Sessions judge, Gulshan Kumar has fixed July 12 for the recording of prosecution's evidence related to the case.
The court charged Pulkit Chaudhary, Amandeep Kadian, Sharad Shekhar Tomar, Roopenshu Pratap Singh and Vikas Punia with unlawful confinement, abduction, gang-raping and treason by personating and common intention under the Indian Penal Code. Besides, the five have also been charged under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POSCO).
The judge ordered that ‘on September 15, 2012 from servant quarters... all of you in furtherance of your common intention abducted and confined a 16-year-old girl, raped and had penetrative sex with her several times during her confinment at your house and thereby committed offence punishable under Sections 363 (kidnapping), 378 (theft), 376 (2) (g) (gang-rape) and 34 (common intention) and 6 and 12 of POCSO Act, 2012 and within my cognisance, I hereby direct that all the accused be tried for the above offence.’
The five law students allegedly gang-raped the girl, who was held captive in the South Delhi residence of one of the co-accused. On December 4, 2012, police arrested the accused after a complaint was lodged at the Defence Colony Police Station on September 15 by the girl's parents. They told the police that their daughter, a Class XI student, had not returned home after attending school on September 15, 2012.
Initially, a case of kidnapping was registered by the police but when the girl was found after two months on November 27, 2012, she deposed that she had accompanied her friend Amit Gautam to his flat where she was held captive and gang-raped by the accused. The court has also framed charges of cheating by impersonation against Pulkit for ‘impersonating as sub-inspector of police before the prosecutrix while committing the above act.