Shakti mills gangrape: Prosecution seeks death penalty for repeat offenders

While the sessions court on Friday sentenced four men convicted for the gang rape of a telephone operator in the Shakti Mills compound to life imprisonment till death, the prosecution appears to be gunning for harsher punishment, including possibly the capital punishment, for the three convicts who are common offenders in this case and the gangrape of a photojournalist at the same location.

The prosecution has filed an application seeking to invoke additional charges that could invite the death penalty against the three common offenders in this case. The additional charges pertain to a repeat offence in a gang rape case.

The three convicts common in both the cases are Vijay Jadhav (19) Mohammad Qasim Shaikh (21) and Mohammad Ansari (28). In addition, Ashfaque Shaikh has been held guilty in rape of a telephone operator on 31 July, 2013, while Siraj Khan was held guilty in the photojournalist’s rape. Two minors, one in each case, are being tried by the Juvenile Justice Board separately.

The section under which additional charges have been sought to be applied is 376(E) of the Indian Penal Code. The section provides capital punishment, as the maximum penalty, for repeat offenders in rape and gang-rape cases. “Both (capital punishment and harsher punishment) options are open for us. If the court allows our application, then we will argue,” Ujjwal Nikam, the Special Public Prosecutor, told Firstpost when asked about whether the prosecution is seeking capital or harsher punishment against the three common accused.

The court convicted the five men for gangrape, conspiracy, common intention, unnatural sex and offences under the Information Technology Act. While the prosecution examined 44 witnesses in the photojournalist’s case, it examined 31 witnesses in the telephone operator’s case. The defence examined three witnesses in the photojournalist’s case and only one witness in the other case.

The court adjourned the hearing on the quantum of sentence in the photojournalist gangrape case till 24 March to decide on the application filed by prosecution after which it will pronounce the quantum of punishment.