The convict was also imposed a fine of Rs 1.68 lakh by the court. (Representational)OBSERVING THAT “the autos which are run for the benefit of the public are becoming the object of crime”, the Additional District and Sessions Judge of special women and child court, Poonam R Joshi, on Wednesday sentenced a 27-year-old auto driver to imprisonment running into 17 years and six months for raping a 29-year-old Dehradun-based fashion designer in May this year. The victim was rescued by CTU staff when she was being assaulted by the accused.
The convict, Mukesh Singh, a resident of Sector 42, and a native of Uttarakhand, was sentenced to imprisonment of 12 years under Section 376 (rape), two years under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), six months under Section 354-A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment) and three years under Section 354-B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) of the Indian Penal Code. The sentences will run consecutively. The convict was also imposed a fine of Rs 1.68 lakh by the court.
As per the prosecution, the case dates back to May 20, 2018, when the victim, a native of Dehradun, had come to Chandigarh on a professional tour. The victim after having dinner in Sector 35 had to go to Sector 42, Chandigarh, to her friend’s residence. At 2.30 am, while she was near the roundabout of Sector 35/43, the accused auto driver came from Sector 35 side, and asked her where she was going. The accused then told the woman that he would drop her in Sector 42, and the woman sat in the auto-rickshaw.
As per the complaint, the auto driver moved the auto rickshaw towards Sector 42 Attawa, then towards a dark slip road and finally stopped the auto. The accused then started molesting the woman. On this, the woman retaliated, but the accused assaulted her. The woman then raised the alarm. A CTU (Chandigarh Transport Undertaking) bus was passing from that side at that time. The driver and conductor of the bus witnessed the incident, stopped the bus and freed the woman from the accused. Later, the police arrested the accused.
During investigation, it was found the auto, CH10-5T-222, was not registered with the State Transport Authority (STA) of Chandigarh and had been running with a temporary registration number since March 2016. The police registered a case under sections 376 and 354 read with 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offence) of the IPC, but later in the chargesheet, Section 35\4-A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment) was added.
During the trial, the defence counsel argued that the complainant had a fight with the accused auto driver over fare and the accused assaulted the woman in an inebriated condition, but he had been falsely implicated in the rape case. She did not go for medical examination after the incident and her call records showed that tower location of her mobile did not match with the time and place of the incident. However, the court after hearing the facts and evidence in the case, held the accused guilty.
