In the sensational gang-rape case of Patan town in north Gujarat, Gujarat HC sentenced life imprisonment to five teachers on Saturday. The accused were charged with raping a Dalit girl student at the hostel premises of an educational institution.
A division bench of HC comprising justices Akil Kureshi and ZK Saiyed passed a judgment in this regard while acting on a group of petitions moved by the accused teachers and the State Government.
The accused teachers who were sentenced of life imprisonment are Manish Parmar, Kiran Patel, Ashwin Parmar, Mahendra Prajapati and Suresh Patel. The sixth accused Atul Patel’s sentence of life imprisonment awarded by the fast-track court has been reduced to 10 years.
Patel’s sentence has been reduced by the court while holding that he did not commit gang-rape and had committed rape on a solitary occasion. The gang-rape incident in Patan in the year 2008 by teachers on a Dalit girl student and inmate of Girls’ Hostel had witnessed huge protest from social activists and women’s organisations.
The girl was gang-raped by six of her teachers at different times and the issue became quite controversial after the girl fainted in the prayer hall of the college on January 31, 2008. Subsequently, on February 4, the victim complained to the college authorities about the incident.
When college authorities failed to take action against them, the girls and their parents vandalised the college and attacked the accused. Finally police came into picture and lodged an FIR against the six accused teachers.