On the world human rights day, a fast-track court here Monday sentenced three convicts in a 14-years old case of flesh trade involving teenage girls to 10 years rigorous imprisonment.
The court, presided over by second additional sessions judge Tahir Khurshid Raina announced the punishment to the convicts after hearing public prosecutor advocate Mujeeb Andrabi and defence counsels.
The three convicts, a couple Tariq and Julie and co-convict Syed Sajad, who were among eleven accused were found guilty of enticing and seducing Kashmiri girls into prostitution in various hotels in Delhi.
In 2004, the case was registered by police station Magam and later on the directions of High Court, was investigated by CBI.
The same year, the state High Court took suo motto cognisance of the case of 2006 sex scandal that shook the state and directed authorities to report all such cases before it.
“The convicts found to have conspired to commit the most detestable, obnoxious, rank immoral and heinous crime and sin of enticing and seducing the illiterate, backward, poor teenage girls of Magam in Kashmir to be used in flesh trade in various hotels at Delhi,” the court said.
“Today is Human Rights Day as recognized by the United Nations and is celebrated across the globe. This court has to curtail the human rights of these convicts on the eve of Human Rights Day, as compelled by the law to do so, at the same time not only it is going to recognize the various sacrosanct human rights of the teenage victims of this case, but also of all daughters of Kashmir, who may not fell prey to such ghosts in human form in future,” the court said.
The court sentenced the convicts to three counts of ten years rigorous imprisonment and Rs 10,000 fine for pushing and selling minor girls into prostitution, procuration of minor girl and the offence of abetment to rape under immoral traffic prevention law.
The three counts of the sentence will run concurrently, the court said. The court also recommended cash compensation of Rs 100,000 each to two of the victims to be paid by the district legal services authority Srinagar.
“With these words, I wish daughters of state of Jammu and Kashmir-serene, safe and secured life,” the court said while delivering the judgment.