Five get 7-year jail for parading woman naked at Bihar’s Bihiya

The court asked the government, through the Bhojpur district magistrate, to provide protection to the victim woman, take steps for her rehabilitation and provide compensation under the provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

A special court at Ara on Friday sentenced five men, found guilty of stripping and parading a woman naked at Bihiya in Bihar’s Bhojpur district, to seven-year rigorous imprisonment (RI).

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

The court of first additional district and sessions judge RC Dwivedi also slapped a fine of ₹12,000 each on Kishori Yadav, Vinod Kumar Keshri alias Marai Keshri, Mumtaz Ansari, Bishnu Kumar and Sikandar Kumar—convicted under Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for rioting and arson.

Fifteen other convicts were sentenced two-year rigorous imprisonment and fined ₹2,000 each. While 14 of them — Ranjeet Kumar, Rajbali Kumar alias Barak, Satya Narayan Prasad, Lakhan Kumar, Rajesh Sharma alias Imarti, Muni Sah, Shubham Sharma, Amit Kumar Jaiswal, Sonu Kumar, Vicky Singh, Suraj Kumar, Rakesh Rai alias Piyush Rai alias Binni, Raja Sah and Babua Jee alias Gunga — were convicted under different sections of Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Vikash Rajak was found guilty of rioting.

Special public prosecutor Satyendra Kumar Singh Dara said the court had convicted the 20 accused on Wednesday and pronounced the quantum of sentence on Friday.

The court also asked the government, through the Bhojpur district magistrate, to provide protection to the victim woman, take steps for her rehabilitation and provide compensation under the provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Dara said.

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.