Life sentences for five men who raped Danish tourist in New Delhi

Five Indians who raped a Danish tourist after she asked for directions in New Delhi were sentenced to life in prison for the attack two years ago that highlighted the plague of sexual violence in the country.

One of the five convicted men in the gang rape of a 51-year-old Danish tourist in 2014. Picture: AP

Judge Ramesh Kumar said the convicts, aged 23 to 30, were guilty of gang rape, kidnapping, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation. Dinesh Sharma, the attorney for the defendants, sought leniency, saying the convicts came from poor backgrounds. The men had pleaded not guilty and can appeal the verdict.

Police said the 51-year-old woman approached several “vagabonds” on the night of 14 January 14, 2014, to ask for directions back to her hotel near Connaught Place, a popular shopping area in the capital. Nine attackers took her to a secluded spot, robbed her and raped her repeatedly at knifepoint. One of the convicts was found with the victim’s glasses case and 1,000 rupees ($15) in cash.

One of the accused men died during trial in February. Three who were younger than 18 at the time of the attack were handed to the juvenile justice board.

Violence against women in India has caused increasing alarm since the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old Indian physiotherapy student in New Delhi in 2012. Several foreign tourists also have been targeted in attacks that often get international attention, although Indian women are assaulted far more frequently.

Public fury over the 2012 rape case led to more stringent laws that doubled prison terms for rape to 20 years. But many women say daily abuse continues unabated and that the new laws have not made the streets any safer.

Meanwhile last week a 36-year-old man was given life imprisonment on Saturday for raping his 12-year-old daughter twice at his residence at Kurichi Pirivu in November 2013.

Hakkim’s wife found her husband raping their elder daughter. Asked why she hadn’t raised an alarm, the girl told her mother that a similar incident had happened four days earlier. She also added that Hakkim had threatened her that he would send her out of the house along with her mother if she revealed the incident to anyone.