Five of the 15 convicts in the gang rape case of a child in Chennai’s Ayanavaram were sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court on Monday, 3 February.
Pronouncing the quantum of punishment, Judge RN Manjula of the court for trial of cases under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act also sentenced the other 10 convicts to varying terms of imprisonment.
Of the five awarded life term, four are to remain in prison till death.
Ravikumar (56), Suresh (32), Abhishek (23) and Palani (40) have been sentenced to undergo life imprisonment until death, while Rajasekaran (40) has been sentenced to life with entitlement to be released prematurely on his application.
One of the convicts has been sentenced to a seven-year prison term, while the other nine have been sentenced to five years of rigorous Imprisonment.
The judge served sentences to 15 of the convicts and acquitted one. Another accused had died during the course of the trial.
The prosecution, regarding the quantum of punishment, said, “It's not a failure, it's a success. Aggravated penetrative sexual assault was proven.”
‘Sexually Assaulted for Over 7 Months’
The case relates to the sexual assault of a hearing-impaired minor girl by a group of 17 people, mostly plumbers, housekeepers, security guards and lift operators working in an apartment complex at Ayanavaram.
Police had charged the accused with sections 354-B (Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 366 (kidnapping), 376-AB, 376-DB, 506 (i) and 506 (ii) of the IPC and sections 5 and 6 of the POCSO Act.
The investigation showed that the girl was sexually assaulted several times by the convicts for over seven months.
The matter came to light after the victim, a Class 7 student, narrated her ordeal to her elder sister, who then informed their parents, following which the girl's father lodged a police complaint on 15 July 2018.
(With inputs from PTI)
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