By IANS,
Pune : A court here Friday awarded life sentences to the three accused in the gang-rape of a married woman near Hinjewadi, on the outskirts of the city last year, a lawyer said.
Senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who was the special public prosecutor, said that he had sought the maximum punishment for the accused trio for the offence which he described as “a crime worse than a murder”.
“The honour of the rape-victim is lost in such a case and can never be recovered,” he told media persons.
Additional Sessions Judge W.K. Sangale held the three guilty last Wednesday. The sentence was pronounced Friday.
The convicted three are Subhash Bhosale, Ganesh Kamble and Ranjit Gade.
The 25-year old victim, an MBA in hospital management, hailed from Nagpur and had gone for a job interview at the Information Technology Park at Mankar Chowk in Wakad area of Hinjewadi, on Pune’s outskirts.
On the evening of April 1 last year, she was awaiting a bus or autorickshaw to return home when the trio approached her in a private taxi and offered a lift.
Considering the late hour and isolated spot, she accepted it.
Later, the trio gang-raped her at an isolated spot and dumped her before disappearing from the scene.
She was found lying unconscious beside the road the following morning by some passersby, who informed the police.
Moving swiftly, the local police employed mobile and vehicle tracking devices and managed to nab the culprits within 72 hours of the crime.
The incident created a scare among working women in the IT parks areas and was discussed in the Maharashtra Assembly later.
Reacting to the judgement a short while back, Home Minister R.R. Patil expressed “satisfaction” over the life-term verdict for the trio.
He also lauded the efforts of the investigators and Nikam for ensuring the speedy disposal of the matter.
“Patil has also directed the state Director-General of Police to give a suitable reward and felicitate the police investigating team which had cracked the case within 72 hours of the crime,” his aide told IANS.