Danish woman gang-rape: HC upholds life term till convicts' death
What's the story
The Delhi High Court today upheld the sentence of life imprisonment till death given to five convicts for gang raping a 52-year-old Danish woman in Delhi in 2014. A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and IS Mehta said the testimony of the victim and the DNA report, which was a clinching piece of evidence, have nailed the guilt of the convicts. Here's more.
Appeals dismissed
Court is satisfied with trial court's conclusion; hence appeals dismissed
The High Court dismissed the appeal of the convicts challenging their conviction and jail term awarded by a trial court in 2016. "In view of the victim's evidence, corroborated by the DNA report, this court is satisfied that the conclusion of the trial court on the guilt of the accused is correct. Accordingly, the appeals are dismissed," the bench said.
Life imprisonment
Trial court awarded life imprisonment to five rapists in 2016
The High Court, however, pulled up the investigating officer of the case for not conducting a proper investigation. The trial court had on June 10, 2016, awarded life imprisonment till death to the five rapists, saying their "inhuman" and "brutal" acts of the abduction and gangrape in 2014 had put a stigma on the reputation of the nation.
Details
Nine persons gang-raped Danish woman in January 2014
The court had held the five men guilty for the offenses under IPC sections 376 (D) (gang rape), 395 (dacoity), 366 (kidnapping), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (common intention). Reportedly, nine persons had robbed and gang-raped the Danish tourist at knife-point on the night of January 14, 2014. The victim had come in Delhi on January 1, 2014.