Five men, head of missionary school convicted in Khunti gang-rape

Five men, head of missionary school convicted in Khunti gang-rape
08 May 2019

Yesterday, six accused, including the head of a missionary school, were convicted by a local court in Jharkhand for their connection in the gang-rape of five tribal women activists last year.

Five of the accused in the case had gang-raped the women in the Khunti district of Jharkhand on June 19, 2018, after abducting them to a secluded place.

Here are the details.

Quantum of sentence will be pronounced on May 15
Decision

According to the Public Prosecutor, Sushil Jaiswal, Additional District Judge Rajesh Kumar found the six of them guilty and will pronounce the quantum of sentence on May 15.

After the court's decision, Father Alfonso Aind, the head of the school, was immediately taken into custody.

Aind was arrested last year for aiding and abetting the crime, and was out on bail from March 14.

Women abducted at gunpoint while performing play at school
Context

On the day of the incident, the victims were performing a play at the school in order to create awareness regarding anti-human trafficking and migration, when the five men abducted them at gunpoint.

They took them to a forest and committed the crime.

As per reports, Aind asked the victims to accompany the men and allegedly assured that they would let them go afterwards.

FIR against Aind for abetting the crime
FIR

After the crime was reported, two FIRs were registered against Aind.

He was charged for failing to inform the police about the heinous crime, and for not stopping the accused men from committing it.

Notably, another FIR was registered against the five culprits who raped the women in the forest.

Later, Aind, along with other culprits, were arrested by the police.