Three ‘remorseless’ Surat rapists get life terms

GANDHINAGAR - Three men convicted for raping a 16-year-old girl in Gujarat’s Surat city were sentenced to life imprisonment Friday, with the judge observing the punishment should be “proportionate to the crime” and the absence of any remorse in the accused.

In one of the fastest trials seen in the state in recent times, District Sessions Judge R.P. Dolaria convicted Shahid Saiyed, 22, Tariq Saiyed, 21, and Abu Bakr, 33, of abduction of a minor, her gang rape, and unnatural offences under sections 376G, 363, 366 and 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Shahid and Tariq are sons respecively of a police inspector and a head constable.

“Punishment should be exemplary and proportionate to the crime. It should set a standard in deterring a repetition of such a crime by anyone in the future,” the judge said, observing the three accused never showed any remorse during the hearings.

They were also fined Rs.1 lakh each.

The three had abducted and raped in a moving car a Class 12 student who was on her way to a tuition class on the evening of June 12, 2009. The rape was also filmed to blackmail the victim.

The incident had led to a public uproar and Surat Police Commissioner Deepak Swarup was transferred overnight.

A day after the incident when the three were being taken for a medical examination, the escorting police party was overwhelmed by a furious mob and the three were severely thrashed and almost lynched. The police officers had to draw their service revolvers to beat back the mob, which wanted the three handed over to them.