AFP/New Delhi
Six men accused in the gang-rape and robbery of a 39-year-old Swiss woman cyclist holidaying in India were sentenced to life terms yesterday by a fast-track Indian court.
“All the accused have been convicted and we are satisfied with the judgement,” said the public prosecutor in the case, Rajendra Tiwari, after the court ruling, the semi-official Press Trust of India and other local media reported.
The rape of the Swiss woman came three months after the fatal gang-rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a bus in Delhi in December, which brought simmering anger about the treatment of women in India to the surface.
India’s legal system has faced intense scrutiny over its efforts to curb violence against women in the world’s largest democracy following the Delhi gang rape in which the victim died of horrific internal injuries.
The six sentenced to life yesterday were detained soon after the attack on the Swiss woman in mid-March in a remote, forested area of Datia district in central Madhya Pradesh state where the victim was camping with her husband.
Her 30-year-old husband was tied up as the woman was assaulted and the pair were also robbed, according to police.
The Swiss couple were reported to be on an adventure tourism trip in India and were cycling through the northern part of the country.
Only four of the six men were charged with gang-rape because testimony from the victim said two of them were “only present at the crime scene”, according to M L Dhody, a Datia police officer.
The other two accused were charged with assault and robbery but still received life-sentences at the court in Datia district.
Five of the men were farmers in their twenties while the sixth was 19 at the time of the attack, police said.
Weeks of massive demonstrations over the Delhi rape prompted India’s parliament to toughen sex offence laws including doubling the minimum prison sentence for gang-rape to 20 years.
Part of the legal shake-up involved the establishment of fast-track courts to try accused rapists in India’s clogged legal system where cases can often drag on for years.
The fast-track trial of four adult suspects in the Delhi rape - another died while in jail from a suspected suicide in March - is underway in the Indian capital. A fifth accused is being tried as a juvenile.
Key suspect held in French woman’s harassment in Kolkata
The prime suspect in the horrific incident of a French woman being chased through the lanes of a posh Kolkata neighbourhood by drunk bikers was arrested yesterday, police said. Four other accused were taken into custody earlier.
“Manoj Haldar was nabbed today from the Gobindapur area in Lake Gardens. He has been charged with attempt to murder and other stringent penal sections,” a police officer said yesterday.
The woman - a trainee at the Alliance Francaise du Bengale - was allegedly forced to take refuge behind taxis and construction materials, besides scaling the gate of an apartment complex early on July 14.
A male colleague - also a French national - accompanying her also had a torrid time, as he was chased and slapped by the bikers. One of the accused even loudly declared his intention to rape the woman, police said.
The woman, who was returning to her Jodhpur Park residence after attending the advance French National Day party at the Alliance Francaise and spending time at a friend’s place, jumped into the apartment complex and was later driven home by her male colleague and some residents.
The police rounded up four of Haldar’s accomplices July 14 under light and bailable charges. One of the four culprits got bail soon after.
However, after the local media took up the matter in a big way, police took a re-look at the complaint, spoke to the Frenchman and slapped more stringent non-bailable charges on the accused which, if proved, could land them in jail for 10 years.
They have now been accused of attempt to murder, and assault or criminal force on women with intent to outrage her modesty.
The West Bengal Women’s Commission has sought a report from police on the incident.
Police have sought the cancellation of bail granted to accused Kanai Naskar.
“We have moved the court seeking cancellation of his bail saying there are more serious charges against him. We are waiting for the court permission,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East Division) Debabrata Das told IANS.