Akela
PRINCIPAL Magistrate G B Jadhav and Mary Shettiyar of Juvenile Justice Board on Tuesday convicted two minors for the gang-rapes of a photojournalist and telephone operator in the abandoned Shakti Mills compound in Central Mumbai, in 2013. The Board directed them to be sent to a borstal school in Nashik for three years “to learn good behavior,” Ujjwal Nikam, Special Public Prosecutor told media.
On August 22, 2013, a photo journalist (22) was gangraped by Qasim Bengali, Vijay Jadhav, Salim Ansari, Siraj Rehman and a minor. She had gone to the desolate Shakti Mills compound in Mahalaxmi with a male colleague on an assignment.
In July 31, 2013, a telephone operator (18) also registered a police complaint alleging that she too was gangraped at Shakti Mills. She had gone there with her boyfriend who was also tied up and she was raped.
Principal Sessions Judge Shalini Phansalkar Joshi on April 4, 2014 had sentenced to death the three common accused in the cases — Vijay Jadhav, Qasim Sheikh alias Bengali and Salim Ansari. These rapists were convicted under Section 376 (E) of the IPC. The new section allows for death penalty in the case of repeat sexual offenders.
The two minors were also found guilty under sections of the IPC including that of gangrape, criminal conspiracy and molestation. One minor was convicted in the photojournalist gangrape case, the other was held guilty in the gangrape of telephone operator.