In a major development of a reported gang rape of a 23-year-old Dalit woman in Karimnagar district, the SC/ST Special Court on Friday has awarded life imprisonment and 20-year imprisonment to the two accused. The third accused, who is said to be a juvenile, has been shifted to a juvenile court.
The court verdict came nearly 15 months after the tragic incident.
According to The New Indian Express, Magistrate M Nagaraju has sentenced the main accused, Gotte Srinivas to 20 years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 11,000. The second accused identified as Muddam Anjaiah, has been awarded life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 11,000.
The families of the accused have decided to approach the High Court for minimising the imprisonment. The victim’s family members said that they were happy with the punishment awarded, but they would have been happier if the accused had been given capital punishment.
The woman is said to be the batchmate of the accused and aspired to be a police officer. On February 10, 2016 the woman went to the mandal headquarters to attend a police constable training session. She was returning to the village along with her friend and the three accused.
The PTI report said that the accused took both the women to a hillock on the outskirts of Veenavanka village, when one of the women sensing danger ran away. However, the other could not escape and was reportedly raped by Srinivas and Anjaiah, while the third accused filmed the crime on his cell phone.
They also threatened the victim that they would post the video clip on social media sites and assaulted her for over 10 days, reported India Today.
The incident came to light when the girl narrated the incident to her parents 13 days after the incident. The angry relatives reportedly beat the accused up on February 24evening, after which the trio were admitted to a hospital in the neighbouring Warangal district.