The court rejected the plea of leniency for Harpreet Singh and Satyender Singh, who were held guilty on charges of gangrape.
The six year long wait is finally over as a local court in the national capital sentenced two Presidential Guards to life imprisonment for abducting and raping a 17-year-old Delhi University student in broad daylight.
The two main accused, Harpreet Singh and Satyender Singh, had raped the student in Buddha Jayanti Park where she had gone with a friend. The court also sentenced Kuldeep Singh and Manish Kumar, who had helped the accused commit the crime, for 10 years of imprisonment.
The horrifying incident had shocked the people in the capital as for the first time army soldiers were accused of abducting and raping a minor girl in broad daylight. The crime occurred on October 6, 2003, inside Buddha Jayanti Park, close to the Army cantonment. The teenaged victim had gone to attend a spiritual programme of Tibetan leader Dalai Lama.
In the course of the investigation, the police had found that the four accused had first assaulted the victim and her friend, Ashish, and later taken her to a secluded place within the park premises where Harpreet and Satyender raped the teenager while Kuldeep and Manish were on guard to avoid being noticed.
The local court of SK Saravaria had earlier found Harpreet Singh and Satyender Singh guilty of the crime. The Delhi Police had flung into action soon after the crime and had arrested all the four accused within 24 hours. The girl had also identified the accused when she was taken for an identification parade by the police. The army had sacked all the accused with a fortnight.
Within a span of 50 days, the police had managed to file the charge-sheet along with medical proof against the four accused. The chargesheet was filed in Patiala House court on November 28, 2003 and the sessions court began the hearing on December 20, 2003.
However, soon after the sentencing, the defense counsel for the accused said they would appeal in a higher court. “We would surely appeal in a higher court. This kind of judgement is rare, and perhaps it was made due to media pressure,” said Ranvir Sharma, the defence lawyer.
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