Shakti Mills gang rape case: Bombay HC says convicts don’t deserve to be ‘assimilated’ in society

Investigators inside the Shakti Mills compound

The Bombay High Court on Thursday commuted to life sentence the death penalty handed to three convicts in the gang rape of a 22-year-old photojournalist inside the defunct Shakti Mills compound in 2013, saying that they "deserve imprisonment for life to repent the offence committed by them as death puts an end to the concept of repentance". The convicts do not deserve to "assimilate" with society, it said. The HC has said that the convicts shall not be entitled to any remissions including parole and furlough.

In its verdict, the HC bench said, "The Shakti Mill gang-rape case has shocked the conscience of society. A rape victim suffers not just physically but mentally as well. It is a violation of human rights. But, only public outcry cannot be taken into account. A death sentence is only an exception. Judgment should not be guided by public outcry."

"Death puts an end to the concept of repentance. It cannot be said that the accused deserved only the death penalty. They deserved religious imprisonment for life to repent for the offence committed by them. Not to assimilate in society. There is no scope of reformation," it added. The three men had been convicted in 2014 and given the death penalty by the sessions court. They were also found guilty of raping a telephone operator at the spot in Mahalaxmi.

Forensic experts look for evidence at Shakti Mills. File pic

The crime shook the nation after a 22-year-old photojournalist was brought to Jaslok Hospital on August 22, 2013. The woman had been tied up, beaten and raped by five people. On September 3, a telephone operator approached the police complaining that she too had been gang-raped inside Shakti Mills.

Twenty teams of cops from 16 police stations and officers from 12 Crime Branch units were pressed to crack the case. Within 65 hours, all five perpetrators were arrested. The photojournalist identified her attackers - Vijay Jadhav, then aged 19, Mohamed Kasim Hafiz Sheikh, alias Kasim Bengali, 21, Mohammed Salim Ansari, 28, Siraj Rehman Khan, alias Sirju, 24 and Chand Shaikh. Those involved in the assault on the telephone operator were identified as Vijay Jadhav, Mohamed Kasim Hafiz Sheikh, Mohammed Salim Ansari, Mohammed Ashfaq Sheikh, 26, and an unnamed minor.

On April 4, 2014, the sessions court pronounced the death penalty for Jadhav, Kasim Bangali and Ansari, treating them as repeat offenders. Last month, a division bench of Justices Sadhana S Jadhav and Prithviraj K Chavan of the high court began hearing the death confirmation reference plea by the state government and appeals by the convicts against the trial court order. Milind Bharambe, joint commissioner (crime) said, "We haven't received the court order copy yet. We will study the verdict given by the honourable court and then will take a final call on it."

How the convicts were tracked down

Police Inspector Manohar Dhanawade was the investigating officer in the photojournalist case and Sanjay Nikumbe in the telephone operator's case. Nikumbe said, "We had no names or any technical evidence in the case. The investigation started in a classic way, i.e. from preparing the sketch. As soon as one accused was identified, we managed to get him overnight. And once we got the breakthrough, the rest of the accused were also caught."

The lane in Mahalaxmi where Shakti Mills stands. File pic

Nikumbe, who is now the senior inspector of Kherwadi police station, said, "When we were searching for Ashfaq Sheikh, we learnt that he had an affair with a bar girl. We kept a watch on her and found Sheikh was hiding in Surat and used to call the woman from a PCO. When Sheikh ran out of money, he came to Girgaum Chowpatty to take money from her and was caught." In the case of Mohammad Qasim Sheikh, who lived at Dhobighat, the police learnt that he often visited Nair hospital and slept on a bench. Seeing the cops, he went to the roof to sleep and was nabbed from there.

How the defence mounted its efforts

Advocate Yug Chaudhry, who represented the convicts, said, "During the argument, I put forth my point before High Court and said that section 376 E (a repeat rape offender will have to be imprisoned for the rest of his life or sentenced to death) of IPC does not apply in the case. And the court got convinced. So the conviction under section 376 E will not sustain."

He said, "Secondly, I said that the trial in the case was unconstitutional and I also submitted a few instances to prove my points. Here also the HC got convinced." The lawyer added, "And lastly, I said that capital punishment cannot be awarded to them because the conviction under section 376 E cannot sustain." Public Prosecutor Sahil Deepak Salvi told mid-day, "The sessions court had convicted the three accused under Section 376 (E) of the IPC and sentenced them to death. The High Court in its order has said that they were found guilty of the same sentence at the same time. Therefore, punishment cannot be imposed under this section."

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No. of teams of cops that had worked to arrest the rapists