New Delhi: A trial court in Muzaffarnagar has convicted two men in the case of the gang-rape of a Muslim woman during the September 2013 communal riots in Uttar Pradesh. This woman is the only one among those who had brought rape allegations who has continued to fight the case in court.
Out of the three – Kuldeep Singh, Maheshvir and Sikander Malik – who were originally accused of gang rape, one (Singh) died in 2020.
They had been charged under sections 376(2)(g) which deals with punishment for gang rape, 376-D, rape by medical caregiver, and 506 which deals with punishment for criminal intimidation, of the Indian Penal Code.
This could be the first conviction under section 376(2)(g) of the IPC, which recognises rape during communal violence as a specific violence since the 2013 amendment of the criminal laws, LiveLaw has reported.
The survivor had earlier approached the Supreme Court to plead that the trial be completed quickly.
The case has seen investigation that has been widely criticised as partisan and the its decade-long trials have been a source of severe trepidation for the survivor.
In a report for The Quint, Aishwarya S. Iyer has written on the survivor:
“As a reporter who has covered her journey for over five years, I can say that her emotional resilience against threats, physical attacks, and constant out-of-court settlement offers for money were repeatedly rejected by her.”
The Wire, too, has reported on the debilitating delay in ensuring justice for Muzaffarnagar survivors.