Mangaluru court sentences 3 men to 20 years RI in gang rape case

Mangaluru: The Additional District and Sessions FTSC-II (Pocso) judge Maanu KS sentenced three men to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment on the charges of gang rape and imposed a fine of Rs 1.65 lakh on them.

The convicted are Mohammed Shakeer, alias Sakir (26), from Mulur village, Mangaluru, Abdul Samad alias Samad (32), from Udupi, and Abhijeeth alias Abhi (27), from Bantwal.

Special public prosecutor K Badarinath Nayari said that Shakeer and Samad lured the 16-year-old survivor on the promise of buying her a mobile phone and new clothes, and asked her to come to Manjeshwar, Kerala on December 7, 2021.

At Manjeshwar, Samad picked her up on his bike and took her to a lodge. There, Shakeer and Samad confined her till December 11.

The duo are accused of forcing her to drink beer and smoke ganja, and sexually assaulting her in turns. 

On the same day, around 7.15 pm, they took the girl to Natekal and handed her over to Abhijeeth, who then drove her to an apartment in Kambalapadav in Pajeer and forced her to drink beer, smoke ganja, and then raped her. 

Later, he was joined by Samad and Shakeer, who again forced her to drink beer and smoke ganja, and then raped her. They even threatened to kill her if she revealed the incident to anyone.

Based on a complaint by the survivor's mother, she was rescued from the apartment, and the police booked a case under IPC sections 363, 328, 376 (D), 506 read with 34, Section 6 of the POCSO Act, and Section 27 (b), 20(b)(ii)A of the NDPS Act. 

Inspector Sandeep G S conducted the investigation and submitted a chargesheet to the court. The court examined 15 witnesses and marked 50 documents. The police had recovered ganja from the place where the minor was raped. The medical examination proved that all four were under the influence of ganja.

The court sentenced the three to undergo 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under IPC Section 376 (D) and Section 6 of the POCSO Act and pay a fine of Rs 40,000 each. All three were also sentenced to three years of simple imprisonment under IPC Section 363 and pay a fine of Rs 5,000. For the offence under IPC Section 343, the accused has been subjected to undergo one year of simple imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 2,000. 

Under IPC Section 328, they will undergo three years of simple imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 5,000. 

For offences under IPC Section 506, they will undergo one year of simple imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 2,000. They will undergo three months of simple imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 500 for the crime committed under 27 (b), and six months of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500 for 20(b)(ii)A of the NDPS Act.

The court directed them to pay a total fine of Rs 1.65 lakh to the survivor, and the court further directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 2.35 lakh to the survivor.