Kolkata, Dec 19 (IANS) A trial court in West Midnapore district of West Bengal on Friday sentenced three men to life imprisonment after convicting them in a gang-rape case involving a woman who was engaged to one of the accused.

The crime took place in a forested area in Garbeta in West Midnapore in August 2020. One of the convicts, Suraj Soren — the victim’s fiance — had taken her to the forest area on the pretext of solemnising their marriage at a nearby temple.

Once there, Suraj, along with his two associates Dasharath Mandi and Kisan Mandi, sexually assaulted her. A fourth accused in the case was a minor at the time of the incident and was therefore, tried separately by a juvenile court, public prosecutor Debasish Maiti told reporters after the verdict.

In addition to awarding life imprisonment to Suraj Soren, Dasharath Mandi and Kisan Mandi, the trial court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on each of the three convicts.

The court further directed the West Bengal government to pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the victim.

The convicts were found guilty under Section 376(D) of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code, which pertains to punishment for gang rape.

During the trial, statements of 13 witnesses were recorded over the course of proceedings that stretched nearly five years.

West Bengal has remained in the national spotlight over the past year due to several incidents of rape, gang rape and rape-cum-murder. The most prominent among them was the brutal rape and murder of a junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in August last year.

The lone convict in that case, Sanjay Roy — a former civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police — is currently serving a life sentence at the Presidency Central Correctional Home in south Kolkata.

–IANS

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