Six years after the abduction and rape of a college student in the city, the Judge of the Coimbatore District Mahila Court M.P. Subramanian, on Tuesday, sentenced ‘Gym’ Hakkim alias A. Abdul Hakkim (32) of Edayarpalayam, Kuniyamuthur, to life imprisonment. The court, which found the accused guilty of the charges, awarded 20 years imprisonment to the accomplices of Hakkim, — K. George Kingsley (36) and A. Mohammed Aniz (38) of Tirupur, R. Karthikeyan (30) of Rathnapuri in the city and S. Miga Prakash (34) of Theni.
According to the Race Course Police, seven persons kidnapped the 24-year-old MBA student and her friend who were in a four-wheeler at Race Course in the late hours of November 21, 2008. The accused demanded money from the friend of the rape victim. “Even as Hakkim’s accomplices took the man with them to collect the money, Hakkim raped the student. She was rescued the next morning from Sulur by the police and a case was registered. The trial began on April 9, 2012 and the prosecution was represented by Public Prosecutor of the Mahila Court (PP) R. Sarojini.
As many as 22 witnesses, including the rape victim, her friend and the team of doctors who conducted the forensic tests were examined. The trial concluded on September 2 and the judgment was delivered on Tuesday. “Of the six accomplices, S. Manikandan (24) of Podanur was found dead hanging in his house earlier this year. Another accused S. Anandraj is still at large,” the PP added.
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The accused were charged with sections 120 B (Conspiracy), 148 (unlawful assembly with deadly weapons), 366 (kidnapping/abduction), 397 (robbery with attempt to cause grievous hurt) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
All the accused were convicted for the charges of kidnap and robbery. The court awarded 20 years imprisonment for kidnap and a fine of Rs. 20,000. In default to pay the penalty, the accused shall undergo another year’s imprisonment, the judge said.
For the charge of conspiracy, the court awarded seven years imprisonment and fine of Rs. 10,000. In case of default, they would undergo one more year of imprisonment. For the charge of unlawful assembly with deadly weapons and rioting, the court awarded one year’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. In default, the court awarded an additional three-months imprisonment. Two of the accused, George and Aniz, were convicted for the charge of wrongful confinement and the court handed a one year’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 and three months additional imprisonment in the event of default to pay the fine. Hakkim was also sentenced to one more year of imprisonment (with fine of Rs. 5,000 or extended imprisonment for a month) for intimidating the rape victim. The judge ordered the convictions to be served concurrently. The court slapped a fine of Rs. 1 lakh on Hakkim, to be paid as compensation to the rape victim. In the event of the victim not wanting the compensation, the court said that the same could be used for legal aid. However, Mr. Subramanian has acquitted Hakkim, and his accomplices, in another case of May 2011, in which Hakkim was accused for allegedly kidnapping a 29-year-old woman from her relative’s house and outraging her modesty. The court observed that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
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