New Delhi, August 22
A Delhi court today sentenced to life imprisonment two Presidential guards convicted for kidnapping and raping a minor girl at the Buddha Jayanti Park here on October 6, 2003.
Handing out the sentence to Harpreet Singh and Satyender Singh, who had been posted in the bodyguard’s department of Rashtrapati Bhawan when the crime was committed, Additional Sessions judge, S K Sarvaria explained that such a heinous crime, particularly by such persons, deserved “exemplary and deterrent” punishment.
The judge also imposed a fine of Rs. 7,000 on them. The two would have to undergo imprisonment for an additional nine months if they failed to pay the fine, the judge ruled.
Two others, Kuldeep Singh and Munesh Kumar, who had been convicted for robbing the victim, were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years each.
Harpreet and Satyender were also awarded a similar 10-year sentence each for robbery, but this would run concurrently with their life term. The judge had convicted the accused on August 17 for offences under various sections of the IPC.
All four had faced rape charges under Section 376(2) (g) IPC. While Harpreet and Satyender were convicted for the crime, the other two had been acquitted.
However, all of them were found guilty for offences under Sections 394/366/34 IPC. The victim, a first year student at Jesus and Mary College here, had been subjected to the crime when she was strolling in the park with her boyfriend, Ashish
Kumar.
