A 25-year-old youth, who had purchased a woman for slavery and had raped her for over two months, was on Thursday sentenced to seven years in jail by a Delhi court.
Additional Sessions Judge Bimla Kumari sentenced Haryana native Ved Pal Haryana to seven years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 21,000 for wrongfully confining the woman and subjecting her to illicit intercourse.
"In the present case, prosecution has proved on record that Ved Pal had wrongfully concealed/confined the victim with an intent that she might be forced or seduced to illicit intercourse," ASJ Kumari said.
The court refused to show leniency to the convict as prosecutor Neelam Narang said leniency in cases of sexual offence is not only undesirable but also against the public interest.
The prosecution case was that Ved Pal along with his uncle Daljeet had in April 2010 purchased the victim, who was working as a domestic help in Gurgoan, from absconding co-accused Shyam Sunder for Rs 1.6 lakh.
The prosecution counsel said Shyam Sunder had procured the victim from co-accused Shabnam, who along with her sister Shakila had approached the victim offering her a job for Rs 5,000 per month.