Gujarat court sentences Jain monk to 10 years in jail for rape of young woman

Surat: The sessions court on Saturday sentenced a monk of the Jain Digambar sect to ten years in jail for raping a 19-year-old woman seven years ago.

Additional district and sessions judge A K Shah also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Shantisagarji Maharaj (56) a day after finding him guilty of raping the college student.

The court considered the testimonies of the young woman as well as other prosecution witnesses besides the medical report and CCTV footage while convicting Shantisagarji Maharaj, public prosecutor Nayan Sukhadwala said.

As per the woman's complaint, the incident took place at the Jain Dharamshala in October 2017.

Before that, he had tried to establish contact with her on phone after obtaining her mobile number from her father who was his disciple, the woman told the police.

On October 1, 2017, the woman, her father and elder brother arrived at the Mahavir Digambar Jain Temple after travelling from Vadodara where they lived and went to the Jain Dharmashala where the accused was residing.

The monk made her father and brother sit in different rooms, performed some rituals by speaking mantras and asked them not to come out till he permitted.

He then went into the room where she was alone and raped her after warning that if she protested, her family members would face bad consequences.

She should visit him whenever he called, he told her.

Shantisagar has been in jail since October 2017, so he will have to serve prison term only for the remaining two and a half years, prosecutor Sukhadwala said.

The prosecution had sought a life sentence for him, highlighting the mental and physical trauma the victim underwent after being raped by someone her family revered, he said.