<p>A Mumbai sessions court on Thursday convicted five people in the two Shakti Mills gang-rape cases that shook the city last year.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Holding them guilty of the sexual assault of a trainee photojournalist on August 22, and the gang-rape of a call centre employee in a separate incident that took place on the same premises, Principal Sessions Judge Shalini Phansalkar said that she would pronounce the quantum of sentence in both cases on Friday.<br /><br />The second case came to light after the call centre employee, who was gang-raped on July 31, recognised her attackers from the pictures released by the police while trying to track down the accused in the first case.<br /><br />Three of the convicts – Vijay Jadhav, 19; Qasim Hafiz Sheikh alias Bengali, 21 and Mohammed Salim Ansari, 28, were found guilty in both cases. The fourth accused, Siraj Khan, 21, was found guilty in the gang-rape of the 23-year-old photojournalist, while the fifth accused Ashfaque Sheikh, 26, was held guilty in the sexual assault of the 19-year-old call centre employee.<br /><br />Two minors, involved in both cases, are being tried separately by a juvenile court.Welcoming the judgment, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told media that he was “trying to seek maximum punishment” for all the five convicts. <br /><br />After listening to the verdict in court, Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil said: “The judgment has been delivered in a record time. Mumbai prides itself on being a city safe for women. This verdict will be a deterrent. We welcome the verdict.”<br /><br />Following a nationwide uproar, the Mumbai Police managed to nab the seven people within three days after the August 22 incident and filed an over 600-page charge sheet against the accused in less than four weeks after the arrests.</p>
<p>A Mumbai sessions court on Thursday convicted five people in the two Shakti Mills gang-rape cases that shook the city last year.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Holding them guilty of the sexual assault of a trainee photojournalist on August 22, and the gang-rape of a call centre employee in a separate incident that took place on the same premises, Principal Sessions Judge Shalini Phansalkar said that she would pronounce the quantum of sentence in both cases on Friday.<br /><br />The second case came to light after the call centre employee, who was gang-raped on July 31, recognised her attackers from the pictures released by the police while trying to track down the accused in the first case.<br /><br />Three of the convicts – Vijay Jadhav, 19; Qasim Hafiz Sheikh alias Bengali, 21 and Mohammed Salim Ansari, 28, were found guilty in both cases. The fourth accused, Siraj Khan, 21, was found guilty in the gang-rape of the 23-year-old photojournalist, while the fifth accused Ashfaque Sheikh, 26, was held guilty in the sexual assault of the 19-year-old call centre employee.<br /><br />Two minors, involved in both cases, are being tried separately by a juvenile court.Welcoming the judgment, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told media that he was “trying to seek maximum punishment” for all the five convicts. <br /><br />After listening to the verdict in court, Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil said: “The judgment has been delivered in a record time. Mumbai prides itself on being a city safe for women. This verdict will be a deterrent. We welcome the verdict.”<br /><br />Following a nationwide uproar, the Mumbai Police managed to nab the seven people within three days after the August 22 incident and filed an over 600-page charge sheet against the accused in less than four weeks after the arrests.</p>
