In a significant judgment, the Bombay High Court has affirmed the 20-year imprisonment sentence of four individuals convicted of gang-raping a woman in a forest in Chandrapur in June 2015. The court, led by Justice G.A. Sanap, rejected the appeals filed by the accused, upholding their conviction and sentencing.
The case involved a distressing incident where the victim and her male friend were visiting a temple and later rested in a nearby forested area. The four accused approached them, posing as forest guards and demanded money. When the woman went to relieve herself, two of the accused followed and sexually assaulted her, while the other two restrained her friend. The assault was interrupted only when a passing forest guard heard the woman’s screams and intervened, urging the attackers to flee. Following this, an FIR was filed, leading to the arrest of the four individuals.
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The court dismissed the defense argument that only two of the accused had committed the rape, stating that the others, by their presence and actions, facilitated the crime and thus deserved the same sentence. This decision reaffirms the court’s stance on treating accomplices in such heinous acts with equal severity.
