Ahmedabad: Five years after city girl Bijal Joshi was gangraped and tortured by her boyfriend and his friends at a hotel here, five persons were sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court in the case which sent shockwaves across the nation. However, the court acquitted seven others due to lack of evidence.

24-year-old Bijal Joshi, who was lured into the city's Ashoka Hotel, was gangraped on the night of December 31, 2003 by her boyfriend Sajal Jain and his friends. After she was gangraped, Bijal was branded with cigarettes and was badly beaten up. She later committed suicide on January 7, 2004.

Sessions Judge Jyostna Yagnik sentenced Bijal's boyfriend Sajal Jain, Sugam Jaiswal, Chandan Jaiswal, Ashok Jaiswal alias Mandan and Dharmendra Jain to life imprisonment.

The court acquitted Pannalal Jaiswal, Anand Jaiswal, Harikrisnha Jaiswal, Seema Jaiswal, Shreya Jaiswal, Ashok Patel and Dr Yogesh Jadhav, who were accused of destroying evidence. The Court has also slapped a fine of Rs 15,000 each on all the accused. Manish Jain, the sixth accused in the case has been absconding.

As per the complaint filed by Joshi, she was gangraped by six people, all of whom were either relatives or friends of Sajal who were present in the hotel room number 106.

The hotel in which the incident took place was owned by Chandan and Ashok Jaiswal's father Pannalal. Both Chandan and Ashok have also been pronounced guilty by the Court.

Police had filed a 600-page chargesheet before the court that had named 12 persons as accused in this case. The case had sent shockwaves across the country.

Source : PTI