Vellore (Tamil Nadu):
Four men who allegedly gang-raped a doctor after abducting her in an auto in Katpadi in 2022 were sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment by the Mahila Court here.
The incident had caused political outrage in the state, leading to the opposition parties demanding stringent action on the perpetrators.
The suspects arrested in the crime were identified by police as Parthiban, an auto driver, Mani alias Manikandan, a daily wage worker, and his friends Bharath and Santhosh. The fifth suspect, a juvenile, is facing trial before the juvenile justice board, police said.
They were produced before the Vellore Sessions Judge (fast track Mahila court) S Mageswari Banu Rekha on Thursday, who awarded the sentences and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of them.
The victim, along with her male colleague was waiting for an auto on March 16, 2022, at 12.30 am in Katpadi when the auto-borne gang of five convinced them to board the vehicle claiming it to be a share auto. However, the duo was taken to the Palar river bed, where the gang attacked the lady doctor’s colleague and reportedly raped her after immobilising her colleague at knife-point, said police.
The duo were robbed of their mobile phones, two sovereign gold jewellery and ATM cards with which the gang withdrew Rs 40,000.
The incident came to light after three members of the gang were reportedly arrested in connection with a drunken brawl. During the interrogation, they confessed to committing the gang rape along with two others, leading to the arrest of the remaining suspects.
An online complaint was later obtained from the lady doctor, police said.
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