Rape victim gets justice

Ahmednagar sessions court awards life imprisonment to 20 accused in rape of then 17-year-old girl

The battle to bring to book those who shattered her life did not go waste for this victim of rape, who waited three years before the Ahmednagar sessions court announced life imprisonment for all the 20 accused.

"They offered me over Rs 15 lakh so that I drop their names from the case, but all I wanted was justice," said the victim. She also survived many threatening calls and two unsuccessful attempts to kidnap her from the Catherine Remand Home for girls in Oshiwara, Mumbai, and the Mundhwa Remand Home.

The sex scandal took place from January 2005 to November 2006. The then 17-year-old was threatened and taken to various places such as Dhule, Ahmednagar, Sangamner, Shahada, Shirdi and Goa and repeatedly raped.u00a0

The case was registered in Ahmednagar on February 2006, when the victim went missing and her father, a rickshaw driver, sought help from an NGO suspecting his daughter was kidnapped and physically assaulted.

After women activists objected, and demanded that the case be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department, DYSP Sushma Chavan, DYSP Avinash Mokashi, Additional SP Prakash Paranjpe, and API Ashok Gobal arrested the 20 accused. The Ahemdnagar sessions court gave a historical decision by awarding life imprisonment to the 20,u00a0 including former ZP chairman Vasant Mangu Pawara.

Special Public Prosecutor Vijay Sawant said: "This is the first time the accused in sex scam have got life terms not just once, but twice under IPC 376 (2)(G) for gang rape and 120 B for criminal conspiracy 109 (34), 114 and 366(A) and Section 3,4,5 and 7 of Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA). More importantly the court has given orders that 50 per cent of the fine collected from all the 20 should be utilised for rehabilitation of the rape victim."

The sex scandal victim spoke exclusively to MiD DAY and narrated her trauma of the past three years. She said: "I always wanted justice and I refused several offers from the accused, who shamelessly offered me lakhs to drop their names from the case. Some officers even commented behind my back that I was only doing this for money."

The 20-year-old now plans to finish her studies. "I dream of joining the police to help unfortunate girls like me stand on their feet again," she said.