2 ex-PAC men get life sentence in 1994 rape and molestation case

“The UP government had made elaborate security arrangements by deploying police force at different places to check rallyists. When the rallyists reached near Rampur Tiraha, Muzaffarnagar, they were restrained by the police and taken into custody. A total of 345 rallyists were detained and among them 47 were women. Among the detained rallyists, instances of rape and molestation had surfaced,” the CBI said in a statement.

Following an Allahabad HC order, CBI lodged an FIR in January 1995 on the allegations that “both the police personnel belonging to PAC had entered the bus and committed crimes, including molestation and rape”. A chargesheet was filed on March 21, 1996 and 15 witnesses were examined during the trial.

“The heinous incident took place on the day of Gandhi Jayanti. The judge took the case very seriously and have quoted Gandhi’s message while delivering the judgment… A total of 16 FIRs were registered in the case. Three cases are still pending before the court while 12 cases have become infructuous as the accused died during trial,” said Rajiv Sharma, the District Government Counsel (criminal).

Anurag Verma, who appeared on behalf of the Uttarakhand Sangharsh Samiti, said the verdict “restores the faith of common man in the judiciary”.