Two sentenced for forcing woman into prostitution

Ropar, January 20

Ropar Additional District and Sessions Judge Surinderpal Kaur here today awarded seven years of imprisonment to a woman for pushing a Dalit woman into prostitution. Another woman was also sentenced to five years imprisonment.

The men who raped the Dalit woman have been identified as Rohit and his father Subhash Chander, both residents of Una in Himachal Pradesh. They have been awarded imprisonment for up to five years. Police official Gautam of Nangal had also been accused of raping the victim and was declared a proclaimed offender.

The case dates back to September 28, 2017, when the 22-year-old victim, who hailed from Nurpur Bedi, had filed a complaint with the then Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, Ajit Pal Singh, who directed the SSP to take necessary action as per law.

The victim had stated in her complaint that she was married in New Delhi and had come to visit her parents at her native place Nurpur Bedi in the month of May. She said in the month of June, her maternal aunt Pooja took her along with her on the pretext of going to Jalandhar and handed her over to some Suman, alias Soma Devi, of Himachal Pradesh.

She had alleged that both her aunt and Suman were pimps and would send her to various men. Besides Rohit, Subhash Chander and Gautam, there were many other unidentified persons who raped her, she alleged.

The judge awarded Pooja Devi imprisonment for up to seven years for kidnapping the victim and forcing her into prostitution. Soma Devi was sent to jail for five years for pushing the victim into prostitution. Rohit and Subhash were awarded imprisonment of seven years, along with a fine of Rs15,000 each, for raping the victim. — TNS