5 convicted in the Danish tourist rape case, sentencing on June 9

It's been 5 years now. Five long years and finally the punishment has been meted out. A Delhi court, on Tuesday, convicted 5 men in the Danish tourist rape case where a 52-year-old Danish tourist was abducted, gang-raped and robbed in the capital. “ All accused are held guilty for all offences,” additional sessions judge Ramesh Kumar II said. As the court pronounced the verdict, the convicts -- Mahendra alias Ganja (27), Mohd Raja (23), Raju (24), Arjun (22), Raju Chakka (23) & ndash barely showed any emotion. They were convicted under sections 376 (D) (gang rape), 395 (dacoits), 366 (abducting woman), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence to be given to the convicts on June 9. Nine people, including three juveniles, allegedly abducted, raped and robbed the 52-year-old Danish woman at knifepoint near the New Delhi railway station on the night of January 14, 2014 after she asked for directions to her hotel in Paharganj. She was taken to a secluded placed and raped. One of the accused & mdash Shyam Lal (56) & mdash died in February in Tihar Jail while the three minors are facing proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board. Sexual violence against women has been a problem in India, particularly in Delhi. Parliament amended the law to toughen jail sentences for rapists and overhauled policing procedures in the wake of the December 16 gang rape of a student on a moving bus in 2012. She later died in a hospital in Singapore, triggering large scale protests. The prosecution had examined 27 witnesses to prove their case against the accused did not lead any evidence. But they denied the charges, contending that a day prior to the incident they had hired a prostitute and had physical relations with her. A defence counsel pointed out that his plea against the trial court's order dismissing a petition seeking to examine some doctors as witnesses on the potency issue of accused Shyam Lal was pending before the Delhi HC. But the judge went ahead with the pronouncement, saying there was no stay on the proceedings.

OUR TAKE

When India plays the advertisement of “ Athithi Devo Bhava” many would not believe it, many will seriously dismiss it as being just a marketing gimmick. True hospitality was taught to the world by us Indians. But because of these shameful incidents, the image o not only the accused, but also the whole country gets tarnished. It should not have taken 5 years to come to a conclusion, as just delayed is justice denied. But then, better late than never. Now that the conviction is over, the court should ensure that the sentencing should be carried out in a befitting manner, meaning that the sentence should be meted out keeping in mind the brutality of the ones involved. After all, animals need to be treated just like that.