Vellore doctor gang rape: Juvenile gets 20-year imprisonment

The POSCO Fast Track Court at the Combined Court Complex in Vellore has convicted a 17-year-old and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment in connection with a gang rape case that took place here in March 2022.

The POSCO Fast Track Court at the Combined Court Complex in Vellore has convicted a 17-year-old and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment in connection with a gang rape case that took place here in March 2022.

Judge D. Sivakumar delivered the verdict, sentencing the teenager and imposing a fine of ₹23,000 on him.

In January this year, the Fast-Track Mahila Court at the court complex convicted four persons and sentenced them to 20 years of imprisonment and imposed ₹25,000 fine each in connection with the case. The police said the five persons, including the juvenile, were involved in the crime that took place past midnight on March 16 three years ago.

The police said that a woman doctor from Bihar and her colleague, a native of Nagpur in Maharashtra, were returning after watching a film at a cinema hall in Katpadi. They hailed a share autorickshaw in which there were four other men.

Instead of taking them to their destination in Old Town via the Green Circle on the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway, the driver took them to Sathuvachari.

Parking the vehicle at a secluded spot near a burial ground, the accused assaulted the duo and three of them gang-raped the doctor. The accused also robbed them of ₹40,000 and two sovereigns of gold jewellery.

After the incident, the woman returned to Bihar and lodged a complaint online with the then Vellore Superintendent of Police, S. Rajesh Kannan, on March 22. Based on her complaint, a case was registered by the Vellore North police under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code (PIC) and Section 4 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.