MANGALDAI, July 7 � The District and Sessions Judge, Darrang in a bid to expedite justice to victims in cases relating to violence against women, has recently awarded stringent punishment to three persons, including life imprisonment to two of the same family.
In the first order issued on June 30 last, the court of Gautam Baruah, District & Sessions Judge, Darrang convicted one Piyar Ali @ Piru s/o Tumaru Bepari and his brother Matleb of village Baghpori under Mangaldai Police Station in the Session Case No. 101(DM) 12 for the brutal killing of Abia Khatoon, wife of Piyar Ali on the night of December 31, 2004. The court awarded rigorous life imprisonment to both the convicted persons and also fined them Rs 5,000 each, and in default rigorous imprisonment for another six months.
The court registered the case following an FIR lodged by one Khidir Ali, father of the victim Abia Khatoon and resident of Baghpori, Mangaldai on January 1, 2004 at Mangaldai Police Station stating that on the previous night at around 9 pm, Piyar Ali, husband of Abia along with his brother Matleb, their father Tumaru Bepari and Nuru Ali, s/o Nousad Bepari on the pretext of taking his daughter to her in-law�s house, took her away from their house and brutally killed her and then buried the body at Begamukh.
Police registered a case no 02/04 U/S-302/34 IPC and after inquiry submitted chargesheets in the court against the prime accused Piyar and Matleb, while declaring Nuru Ali as an absconder. In course of time, the court declared the third accused Nuru Ali as a proclaimed absconder.
On the other hand, the District and Sessions Court on July 3, awarded seven years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000, in default rigorous imprisonment for another six months to one Birju Chouhan, a resident of Kopati area under Dalgaon Police Station.
The accused, was convicted in the Session Case No.16 (DM) 14. Earlier, the Dalgaon Police had registered a case (No 214/ 13 U/S 448/376) against Birju on the basis of an FIR lodged by one widow of the same village, where she alleged that Birju on the evening of April 16, 2013 had entered their house and forcefully took away her 14-year-old sleeping daughter to a nearby betelnut orchard, by gagging her mouth and sexually assaulted her.
In the FIR, it was stated that the girl after returning home informed her mother about the incident. In the verdict, it was observed that as the victim is a young girl aged about 14 years who resides with her widowed mother and younger brother, she is entitled for Rs 1,00,000 as compensation for the rehabilitation, and hence the Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Darrang will make the payment at the earliest.
These two back-to-back recent verdicts have raised the hopes of hundreds of victimised women or their family members, who have been fighting for justice against crime committed upon them long before.
