TISS gangrape: Absconding accused’s anticipatory bail rejected,arrested

Additional Sessions Judge K P Joshi,while rejecting the application,observed that the act committed by Soni and the other five arrested accused has affected the image of the country at the international level.

“The nature of the offence,its gravity and its impact on the society needs to be considered. The accused has been alleged to have raped a foreign national who had come to India for studies and has no family here,” the court observed.

Soni and five others have been accused of allegedly raping a 23-year-old US national,who had come to India for doing a course in gender and development in the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS).

Soni,who was at large till Monday,approached the sessions court on Tuesday seeking anticipatory bail in the case. His lawyer argued that although Soni was present at the suburban residence where the victim was allegedly raped,he was not involved in the crime.

“Soni just kissed her and that too after she asked him to. He then slept off and does not know what happened at the flat,” said Soni’s lawyer N D Patil.

The court,however,observed that in a gangrape case,even if an accused has not had intercourse with the victim,he can be held equally liable for involvement in the offence and faces the same punishment.

Patil further argued that the victim was a consenting party to the entire incident and had enjoyed the night.

“The victim,a US national,went out with people she barely knew and had drinks with them. She asked them to drop her to her friend’s hotel in Andheri. Why is it that she did not object to them going to a flat with unknown people?” Patil said.

“The conduct of the victim needs to be taken into consideration. There is no word about forcing the victim to go to the flat. Soni has been falsely implicated in the case,” Patil argued.

He further argued as to why the victim lodged the complaint four days after the incident.

Public Prosecutor R V Kini however argued that a rape victim,Indian or foreigner is bound to be traumatised after the incident.

“In this case,the victim who has come to India for her studies,does not have anyone to approach. Her family is not here. She mustered the courage to approach the police after talking to her mother and friends in US and to a professor in TISS,” Kini argued.

Kini further said that Soni was equally involved in the offence as on the next day he had accompanied another accused Harsh and the victim to a chemist shop to purchase contraceptives for the victim.

“The accused knew the victim was under the influence of alcohol and thus took advantage of her by taking her to their friend’s flat instead of dropping her at her friend’s hotel,” Kini said.

The other five arrested accused — Harsh,Jaskar Singh Bullar alias Karan Singh,Anish Borkataki,Kundanraj Norgonain and Dev Cyrus Kulabawala — are presently in police custody till April 28.