SRINAGAR – A special CBI court today sentenced five people, including aformer Border Security Force DIG, to 10 years in prison in the 2006Occupied Jammu and Kashmir sex scandal.
Pronouncing the quantum of sentence in a packed courtroom here, judge GaganGeet Kaur said the convicts deserved no leniency. The court had held thefive guilty on May 30.
The convicts were brought to the court under tight security. Some of theirfamily members were present there.
Minor girls were pushed into prostitution in the scandal in which seniorofficials and politicians were alleged to be involved.
Those sentenced to rigorous imprisonment are former BSF deputy inspectorgeneral KC Padhi, former J&K deputy superintendent of police MohammadAshraf Mir and three others Masood Ahmad alias Maqsood, Shabir Ahmad Langooand Shabir Ahmad Laway.
Any period spent by them in custody during the trial will be set offagainst their term of imprisonment.
The court came down heavily upon Padhi and Mir, saying such acts could notbe expected from those the society regarded as its protectors.
The five were convicted under Section 376 of the Ranbir Penal Code whichdeals with the offence of rape.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on Padhi and Mir, orderingthat they will undergo another year of rigorous imprisonment if theydefaulted on its payment.
It slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 each on Masood Ahmad, Langoo and Laway, whowill serve another six months in prison if they failed to pay.
The amount will be used as compensation for the loss of the victim’sreputation and dignity, mental harm and loss of opportunity of education,the judge said.
“A victim of rape inevitably suffers acute trauma. Rape itself bringsenormous shame to the victim,” she said.
It was unfortunate that sexual violence against women still existed in the21st century, the court observed.
The court rejected the contention by the convicts that they did not haveknowledge of the age of the prosecutrix.