E-Paper
Ludhiana court convicts six men in Issewal gangrape case
A 21-year-old student was kidnapped and raped while she was travelling in a car with a male friend in Ludhiana in 2019
A Ludhiana court on Monday held six men guilty in the Issewal kidnapping and gangrape case that had shocked the city three years ago. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on March 4.
The culprits have been identified as Ajay and Saif Ali of Tibba, Sadiq Ali of Rehpa (SBS Nagar), Jagroop Singh of Jaspal Bangar and Surmu of Khanpur (both villages in Ludhiana) and Liyakat Ali of Kathua (Jammu) who was then a Class-11 student.
A 21-year-old student of cosmetology and her male friend, who were travelling in a car from Ludhiana towards Issewal village, had faced the horror of their lives when three men on a bike started followed them and stopped their car forcibly by breaking its glass with a brick on the night of February 9, 2019. The accused had then taken the victim to a vacant plot and called their accomplices, who took turns to rape her.
The accused then robbed the victim and her friend of ₹13,000 in cash and gold rings, and made them call their friend to arrange ₹ 2 lakh ransom for release. After four men had left the spot, the male friend had hit one of the remaining ones on his head with an empty bottle and two managed to flee and approach police.
A case was registered under Sections 376-D (gangrape), 384 (extortion) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) after the victim reported the matter to the police. The victims’ friend who had received the ransom call had alleged that the Mullanpur police did nothing on the night of the incident even as they were given the recordings of the extortion calls. A police team led by DIG, Ludhiana Range, Ranbir Singh Khatra had arrested all the six accused within three days of the crime.
The investigation was supervised by V Neeraja, additional director general of police (ADGP), Punjab. Patil Ketan Baliram, senior superintendent of police (SSP, Ludhiana Rural) said during investigation more sections were added to the FIR and the challan was presented in court on April 4, 2019. Investigations had revealed that the gang had committed several rapes in the past, but none of the victims had come forward.
The chargesheet contained statements of the victim’s male friend and another friend who was in contact with the accused over phone. At least 55 people recorded their statements in the case. Medical reports of the victim and her friend, DNA profiling test and voice recording tests of the accused and their identification by the victim during the test parade helped nail the culprits in the court of additional district and sessions judge Rashmi Sharma.
