In April 2019 a 19-year-old Dalit woman filed a complaint that she was gang-raped by five men in front of her husband in Alwar, Rajasthan. The video of the incident was later circulated on social media.
And, finally, on Tuesday, the special court awarded life imprisonment to four men for gangraping the survivor and five years imprisonment for the accused, who circulated the video on social media. The verdict was pronounced by a special court for hearing cases under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Another accused, who is a minor, is being tried separately.
“The court has sentenced four of the accused- Hansraj Gurjar, Chotelal Gurjar, Ashok Gurjar and Indraj Gurjar to life imprisonment till the end of their natural life while another accused, Mukesh, who played a part in circulating the video of the incident has been sentenced to five years of imprisonment after being convicted under the IT Act,” said Special Public Prosecutor Kuldip Jain on Tuesday.
According to the FIR, five bike-borne men on the Alwar-Thanagazi highway forcibly abducted the couple and dragged them behind sand dunes off the road on April 26. They not only gang-raped the woman in front of her husband but also filmed the act, and robbed them of Rs 2,000.
As per the sources, two days after the incident, the accused started calling the survivor’s husband and started blackmailing him. The accused demanded Rs 10,000 and threatened that they would circulate the video if they were not paid.
After the constant threats, the woman and her family reported the matter to the police on April 30. But despite their constant pleas, the police officials deliberately didn’t take any action in the matter for seven days. After the nationwide outrage, the police finally filed the FIR on May 2.
It is quite inspiring how the Alwar gangrape survivor and her husband fought like a true warrior to seek justice.
Along with her husband by her side, the survivor fought tooth and nail to get her culprits behind the bars. She fought for justice not only for herself but also for every woman who could have been the victim of these sexual predators. Because of her and her husband’s undying determination and persistence, the police arrested all the six accused.
The survivor was later provided a job in the police force by the Rajasthan government and was recruited as a police constable. While taking her post, she mentioned:
“Main police afsar banee ja rahi hon. Koshish karungi jo mere saath hua wo kissi aur ladki ke saath na ho
(I am going to become a policewoman. I will try to ensure that no other girl has to experience the trauma that I went through.)
We hope this inspiring battle will give courage to many more to come forward and fight for their dignity!
