Ahmedabad: In the talked about Bijal Joshi gangrape case, 5 people have been sentenced to life by Ahmedabad sessions court on Friday, while seven others were acquitted on account of lack of evidences.
According to the case, the 24 year old, Bijal Joshi was gangraped on the eve of new year party on 31st December 2003 by his boyfriend, Sajal Jain and some of his friends in a hotel room. After being raped, she was also burnt with cigarette stubs and beaten brutally. Unable to bear the torture and the humiliation, Bijal ended her life after a week on 7th January 2004.
On Friday, additional sessions judge Jyotsnaben Yagnik gave the verdict of life imprisonment to Sajal Jain and four of his friends, Sangam Jaiswal, Chandan Jaiswal, Ashok Jaiswal alias Mandan and Dharmendra Jain. The court acquitted Panna Lal Jaiswal, Anand Jaiswal, Harikrishna Jaiswal, Seema Jaiswal, Shreya Jaiswal, Ashok Patel and Yogesh Jadhav because of lack of evidences. These people were accused of destroying the evidences.
All those sentenced by the court have been fined to Rs 15000 each. The sixth accused in the case, Manish Jain is still absconding. According to the complaint lodged by Bijal, she was raped by 6 people, all of whom were either Sajal’s relatives or friends and who were present in the room number 106 in the hotel. The hotel belonged to the father of Chandan and Ashok Jaiswal, Panna Lal. The gangrape had sent chills to the entire nation.