A fast-track court in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, has delivered a life imprisonment sentence to three men for the horrific 2018 crime of gangraping a 35-year-old woman and subsequently burning her alive. The brutal incident occurred in front of the victim's seven-year-old daughter, whose testimony and an audio recording of the victim's last plea for help proved crucial in securing the conviction.
The Horrific Night of July 13, 2018
On the night of July 13, 2018, four men entered the woman's home in a village in the Sambhal district. The woman was alone with her young daughter. According to Additional District Government Counsel (ADGC) Hariom Prakash, the assailants took turns to sexually assault her while her child was forced to witness the atrocity. The house's isolated location on the village outskirts meant her desperate cries for help went unheard.
After the savage assault, the men left, threatening to return and set her on fire. In a state of terror, the victim tried to call her husband, a mason working in Ghaziabad, and her brother, but network issues prevented the calls from connecting. She finally managed to reach her cousin and narrated the entire ordeal.
Key Evidence: The Recorded Plea and a Child's Trauma
The cousin recorded this heart-wrenching conversation, which later became the primary evidence in the case. The call got disconnected due to poor connectivity. Tragically, the men returned as threatened. They forcibly took the woman to a hut near a temple, poured diesel on her, and set her ablaze. She died at the scene.
Her husband and brother discovered the scene the next morning and informed the police. ADGC Prakash revealed that the police initially treated it as a possible suicide case. However, the chilling audio recording and the consistent, detailed statement from the victim's daughter, who was the sole eyewitness, irrefutably nailed the culprits. The daughter, now 14 years old, remains deeply traumatised by the memories of that night.
Court's Verdict and Sentencing
During the trial, the victim's family had sought the death penalty for the convicts—Aaram Singh, Jaiveer Kumar, Kanwarpal Singh (all in their 40s), and a fourth who was a juvenile at the time. The court of Additional District Judge Awadhesh Kumar Singh considered all evidence and sentenced the three adults to rigorous life imprisonment. Each was also slapped with a hefty fine of Rs 1.1 lakh.
The fourth accused, who was a teenager at the time of the crime, is being tried separately before a Juvenile Justice Board. The court's decision underscores the critical role of digital evidence and survivor testimony in securing justice in heinous crimes, even when initial investigations falter.
