20-year jail term for two Assam rape accused

A court in eastern Assam's Jorhat district on Wednesday sentenced two persons convicted in a rape case to 20 years rigorous imprisonment each and imposed a fine of Rs. 20,000 each.

Daughter of a tea garden worker, aged 18 years was raped by the accused--Padum Nayak and Sunil Tanti on May 28 last year when she had gone out around 3 am to urinate as there was no toilet at home. The girl said she was gagged by the two and taken to nearby tea bushes and raped.

She, however, told her parents in the evening when they had come back from their work in a tea garden. The accused, who also works in a tea garden, are known to the victim.

Jorhat, having many tea gardens, is about 300-km east of Guwahati.

After cross-examining the evidence and witnesses, the court had found the accused guilty of rape and convicted the duo under 376 of IPC and accordingly the sentence was pronounced on Wednesday.

The court also ordered the Jorhat district legal service authority to pay compensation to the victim which should be used for her welfare.