4 sentenced for life; 1 convicted for circulating video to serve 5 years in jail in Alwar gang-rape case

The woman was raped by five men in front of her husband on April 26, 2019, in Thanagazi in Alwar. The crime sparked criticism by the opposition parties for the delay in lodging a First Information Report (FIR) and not taking action until the purported video of the gang-gape began circulating on social media.

A special court on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to four of the five men for raping a 19-year-old Dalit woman in Rajasthan’s Alwar last year. The fifth man, who circulated the video of the crime on social media, will spend five years in jail, the court said. The verdict was pronounced by a special court for hearing cases under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Rajasthan police. (HT photo)

The woman was raped by five men in front of her husband on April 26, 2019, in Thanagazi in Alwar. The crime sparked criticism by the opposition parties for the delay in lodging a First Information Report (FIR) and not taking action until the purported video of the gang-gape began circulating on social media.

On May 18, police had filed the charge sheet against the accused-- 16 days after the FIR. As per the FIR, four men and a juvenile raped the woman while another man filmed the entire incident. They were then asking for ₹10,000 from the woman for not putting the video on social media.

Police also invoked different sections of the SC/ST Act and the Information and Technology Act in the FIR.

During the course of the investigation, the state government removed the then superintendent of police Rajeev Pachar and suspended the Thanagazi SHO Sardar Singh for alleged laxity.