After Dec 16 verdict, two Thane men get death for gang raping 2 women, murdering one of them

The two men had lured the ragpickers to a tunnel in Vashi and raped them. They murdered one, while the second woman fled

A sessions court in Thane sentenced two men to death on Thursday for gang raping two women and murdering one of them on May 9, 2012.

The men must also pay a fine of Rs30,000. (HT File Photo)

Judge SC Khalipe also ordered the men to pay a fine of Rs30,000, said district government pleader Sangita Phad.

The convicts, Rahimuddin Shaikh alias John Anthony D’souza, 24, and Sandip Shirsat alias Raghu Rokda, 20, are Mankhurd residents who worked as labourers.

They had lured the ragpickers — aged 20 and 28 years — from a Vashi bus stop on the pretext of giving them jobs. They raped them at knife point at a nearby tunnel. While they killed the 28-year-old on the spot, the 20-year-old woman escaped and fled to the highway, where passersby helped her and alerted the police.

CBD Belapur police said Rahimuddin had been carrying a knife and Shirsat had an axe at the time of the incident. Both women suffered injuries on their thighs and private parts.