Court finds 20 guilty of parading woman naked at Bihar’s Bihiya

First additional district and sessions judge RC Dwivedi, who passed the order after finding the 20 accused guilty, will hear arguments on quantum of sentence on Friday.

A special court for atrocities against SC/ST at Ara on Wednesday convicted 20 people for parading naked a woman at Bihiya in Bihar’s Bhojpur district in August.

The scene outside Ara court after the judgement on Wednesday (HT Photo)

First additional district and sessions judge RC Dwivedi, who passed the order after finding the 20 accused guilty, will hear arguments on quantum of sentence on Friday.

The court completed the trial within two-and-half months.

Special public prosecutor Satyendra Kumar Singh Dara said the woman was paraded naked and her house set on fire after a 16-year-old boy was found dead under mysterious circumstances near railway tracks at Bihiya, 23 km west of Bhojpur district headquarters Ara, on August 20. The accused had also hurled casteist abuses at her, Dara said, quoting the FIR.

The police submitted a chargesheet on September 5 against 22 people, and declared one of the accused as an absconder. While one of the accused was declared a juvenile by the court, the rest faced trial. The court framed charges against the 20 accused on September 13.