Calcutta High Court upholds life terms in 2015 Howrah train gangrape case

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has upheld the conviction and life sentences of two men and a 10-year jail term for a third in a case involving the gangrape of a minor girl inside a moving train, holding that the evidence on record clearly established the guilt of the accused.

A Division Bench of Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi and Justice Debangsu Basak dismissed three appeals against a 2023 judgment of a special POCSO court in Howrah, affirming the conviction and sentence.

According to the prosecution, the victim, a Class IX student, had boarded a train from Howrah in December 2015 intending to travel to Punjab. She entered a compartment reserved for military personnel, where three men engaged her in conversation.

The victim stated that the men claimed to be Army personnel and threatened her before forcing her to consume alcohol and sexually assaulting her inside the washroom of the moving train.

The girl was later found semi-conscious and rescued from the train at Madhupur station by railway police acting on inputs from Child Line.

One of the accused was apprehended from the compartment, while the other two fled. During investigation, their photographs were circulated to Army and paramilitary units, leading to their arrest with the help of the CISF at Guwahati airport.

The High Court noted that the victim’s account remained consistent and was corroborated by her parents, police witnesses and medical evidence. The medical board found signs of forceful sexual assault, presence of seminal fluid and spermatozoa and injuries consistent with her version. The victim’s age was assessed between 14 and 15 years.

Rejecting the defence challenge to the identification process, the court held that the test identification parade was conducted properly and no objection had been raised at the relevant stage, undermining the claim of prior exposure.

Observing that the chain of circumstances and evidence left no room for doubt, the Bench said there was no reason to interfere with the findings of the trial court.

The appeals were dismissed and the sentences affirmed. The court also directed that the period already undergone in custody be set off against the sentence in accordance with law.