Japanese tourist's rape: 3 get 20 years in jail

 Three men, accused of raping a Japanese tourist nearly seven months ago, were sentenced to 20 years in jail by a Jaipur court on Friday. The three include Ajit Singh Chaudhary, a tout and the main accused.

Chaudhary and his two friends - Abrar and Wahid - have been charged under Section 376D of the Indian Penal Code. A total of nine people were arrested by the police during the course of investigation. While court held three men guilty, three others were discharged. Hearing against the remaining three is still going on.

According to the police, Chaudhary befriended the Japanese woman at Jal Mahal on February 8. On the pretext of dropping her at her hotel, he took her to an isolated place near Dudu on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway, forced her onto the ground and beat her up when she resisted. He then raped her. He later spoke to his friends on phone who asked Chaudhary to bring the woman to a cooperative society where Wahid worked.

Chaudhary asked the Japanese tourist to come with him and threatened her with dire consequences if she refused. The police said that the friends would have also raped the woman, but she raised an alarm and on hearing her cries for help, some villagers rescued the woman before Chaudhary could take her to his friends.

When filing the chargesheet against Chaudhary, the police submitted an application in the court requesting a fast trial so that the woman could get the justice quickly.

The police have used Section 376D for the first time in the state. As per the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013, if a woman is raped by one person and it is found that some others were also intending to rape her with "common intention", all of them are deemed to have committed the offence of rape. The minimum punishment for each person is 20 years which may extend to life imprisonment (for the remainder of that person's natural life).

The police had arrested Chaudhary on February 13. "We wanted to file the chargesheet as soon as possible without compromising with the collection and strong presentation of evidences in it," said a police officer.

The officer added that after carrying out a comprehensive investigation, the police filed the chargesheet in a Dudu court in Jaipur rural within a week.