Five accused convicted in 2016 Bulandshahr gang rape case
Nearly a decade after a horrific crime that shook the nation, the city court at Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh convicted all five accused in the Bulandshahr gang rape case on Saturday. The case had sparked nationwide outrage in 2016. The Special Judge POCSO Case, Bulandshahr, has held all five accused identified as Juber, Sajid, Dharamvir, Naresh and Sunil Kumar guilty in the gang rape case. After the conclusion of the trial, the court found the accused persons guilty and will pronounce the sentence on December 22. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered the case in compliance with an order of the High Court of Allahabad whereby the probe in the case was transferred from Kotwali Dehat Police Station of Bulandshahr to the federal agency. The case pertains to a heinous incident involving rape, dacoity, wrongful confinement and penetrative sexual assault on a child. As per allegations, a group of five to six armed assailants forcibly took a family of six at gunpoint, looted cash and jewellery and subsequently held them captive in adjoining fields. The incident had taken place when six members of a Noida-based family were travelling to Shahjahanpur in UP. At the national highway passing through Bulandshahr, their car was stopped by criminals at Dostpur village. The assailants dragged the 13-year-old girl and her mother out and raped them in a field nearby. The victims and their entire family members identified the accused after they were shown around 50 photographs of criminals in the various areas in the area. The incident evoked a huge outcry and received widespread criticism over the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh. The National Commission for Women also slammed the UP police for negligence and apathy to the point that there were mistakes even in the preparation of the FIR. After completion of the investigation, CBI filed a charge-sheet on November 5, 2016, against three accused persons before the Court of the Additional. District and Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge (POCSO Cases), Bulandshahr. Subsequently, a supplementary charge-sheet was filed on April 18, 2018, against three additional accused persons. During the pendency of the trial, one accused expired in judicial custody.