All 5 accused of raping 19-yr-old in Raj last year pronounced guilty

Alwar: A special court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to four of the five men for raping a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Rajasthan’s Alwar last year. The fifth man, who circulated the video of the crime on social media, will spend five years in jail, the court said. The verdict was pronounced by a special court for hearing cases under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The four had raped the woman in front of her husband in an isolated area on the Thanagazi-Alwar bypass on April 26 last year.

The rigorous life imprisonment was awarded to Hansraj Gurjar, Ashok Gujar, Chhotelal Gurjar and Indraj Gurjar.

Hansraj Gurjar will serve the sentence till the time of his death because he had repeated the offence, a counsel for the victim told reporters in Alwar.

The woman was raped by five men in front of her husband on April 26, 2019, in Thanagazi in Alwar. The crime sparked criticism by the opposition parties for the delay in lodging a First Information Report (FIR) and not taking action until the purported video of the gang-gape began circulating on social media.

On May 18, police had filed the charge sheet against the accused-- 16 days after the FIR. As per the FIR, four men and a juvenile raped the woman while another man filmed the entire incident. They were then asking for Rs 10,000 from the woman for not putting the video on social media.

The court also imposed fine on the convicts under various sections and the amount will be given to the victim.