Mysuru: Mysuru city’s 7th Additional District and Sessions Court has sentenced five individuals to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment after they were found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman, resulting in her death.

Those convicted are, Rafiq Ahmed alias Talla (26) of Shanthinagar (A-1), R. Manjunath alias Manja (25) of Mandi Mohalla (A-2), Manu alias Ladies (23) of Lashkar Mohalla (A-3), Revanna alias Reva (27) of Lashkar Mohalla (A-4) and Krishna (40) of Lashkar Mohalla (A-5).

The incident occurred on the night of Feb. 15, 2021. Around 9 pm, Rafiq brought an unidentified woman and was seen sitting with her in front of a shop on Benki Nawab (BN) Street near Lashkar Mohalla.

He then sexually assaulted her at the same location and later moved her to a dark spot near another shop and assaulted her again. Soon, Manja, Manu, Krishna, and Revanna joined him and took turns sexually assaulting the woman. The continuous assault led to her death. Believing her to be unconscious, the accused fled the scene.

Following a tip-off, the then Devaraja Inspector R. Diwakar and Sub-Inspector Raju launched an investigation and apprehended all five accused. Since the body was found within Lashkar Police limits, the case was later transferred to the Lashkar Police Station. Inspector Suresh Kumar filed the charge-sheet.

Judge M. Ramesh, who presided over the trial, found the accused guilty based on CCTV footage, witness statements, the dog squad report and DNA analysis.

All five were sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment. Additionally, a fine of Rs. 5,000 each was imposed on A-1, A-2, A-3, and A-5.

 K. Nagaraj served as the Public Prosecutor in the case.