Sexual abuse: Indian men receive life sentences for horrific assault and murder of teen sisters

Two Indian men have been sentenced to lifelong imprisonment for the sexual abuse and fatal assault of two teenage sisters. Their bodies were discovered hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh in September last year. This horrific crime led to widespread public outrage and significantly impacted India’s discourse around sexual violence.

On Friday, August 11, India’s Sexual Abuse Child Protection Court concluded that the two men were guilty of the sexual abuse crime committed on September 14, last year. The devastating incident happened in Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh, where the girls, aged 15 and 17, were abducted from their homes. The atrocities, comprising hours-long sexual assault followed by strangulation, concluded with the girls’ bodies being hung from a tree in a sugarcane field. Their bodies were discovered the next morning, leading to enormous public outcry. The police investigations involved six suspects in what was labelled a heinous sexual abuse crime.

The judge found them guilty of numerous counts of illegality, including kidnapping, gang rape of a woman under 16 years old, murder, and voluntarily causing harm. In addition to their lifetime imprisonment, they were also fined 46,000 Indian rupees (approximately 20,000 baht).

However, only two of the six suspects are serving life imprisonment. On August 14, another two suspects were sentenced to six years imprisonment and were fined 5,000 Indian rupees (approximately 2,100 baht) for destroying evidence in this sexual abuse case. The remaining two suspects face proceedings in a juvenile court due to their ages being under 18 and 16 years old respectively reported KhaoSod.

The case was tried in India’s Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Court, dedicated to swiftly dealing with child sexual abuse allegations. The court’s verdict comes as part of an ongoing nationwide conversation about sexual abuse in India. The case has quickly become a symbol of the country’s struggle in handling such crimes and prompted calls for more stringent legal measures to deter such vile acts.