A trial court in Muzaffarnagar on May 9 convicted two men, Maheshvir and Sikander, for the gang rape of a Muslim woman during the communal riots that shook the western Uttar Pradesh town in September 2013. In the first conviction for gang rape during the riots, that left over 60 people dead and hundreds homeless, the accused have been awarded 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and ₹10,000 fine under Section 367D of the Indian Penal Code.
The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Anjani Kumar Singh, also convicted the two accused for 10 years of imprisonment under Section 376 (2)(g) of the IPC and a fine of ₹5,000 and two years of imprisonment under Section 506 of the IPC. The third accused Kuldeep died during the court proceedings.
The court pronounced the judgment almost after 9 years and 7 months of the incident in which the judge maintained that the accused gang-raped the helpless woman when she was trying to save herself and her ailing son’s life during riots by hiding in sugarcane fields.
