Four men sentenced to life imprisonment for gangrape, murder in 2018

Sambhal (UP), Dec 19 (PTI) A court here on Friday sentenced four men to life imprisonment for raping a 38-year-old woman and burning her alive in 2018, an official said.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Avdhesh Kumar Singh delivered the verdict and also imposed a fine of Rs 1.12 lakh each on the accused, he said.

"One of the accused, who was a juvenile at the time of the crime, is being tried separately before the Juvenile Justice Board," said Assistant District Government Counsel Hari Om Prakash.

"The incident occurred around 2.30 am on July 13, 2018, in a village under Rajpura police station limits. According to the complaint lodged by the victim's husband, who was away in Ghaziabad for work, the accused barged into the house and sexually assaulted his wife while their seven-year-old daughter was present," he added.

Om Prakash said that after the victim informed her maternal cousin about the incident over the phone, the accused allegedly returned, took her to a nearby hut and set it on fire, resulting in her death.

The court held Aram Singh, Mahavir, Kumar Pal alias Bhona and Gullu alias Jaiveer guilty of gang rape and murder.

The court awarded them life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1.12 lakh each, the prosecutor said.

He said the victim's maternal cousin and her minor daughter were key eyewitnesses in the case.

The prosecution also relied on forensic evidence, including reports showing semen traces on the accused's clothes, the victim's mobile phone recovered from the spot, and audio recordings of conversations between the victim and her cousin.

Police had registered a case under relevant sections and filed a charge sheet in court. PTI COR CDN HIG HIG