NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday sentenced sex racketeer Geeta Arora alias Sonu Punjaban to 24 years rigorous imprisonment and her associate Sandeep Bedwal to 20 years, in a case of kidnapping and prostitution of a minor girl.
Additional Session Judge Pritam Singh of Dwarka court had convicted them in the case on July 17, holding that the prosecution has succeeded in proving the charges against the two "beyond reasonable doubt".
The 12-year-old victim was kidnapped by Bedwal on September 11, 2009 and was sold and re-sold to a score of people, including Sonu Punjaban, for the purpose of prostitution.
According to the prosecution, Sonu Punjaban used to administer drugs into the body of the victim to make it "more suitable for prostitution" and used to charge Rs 1, 500 from customers.
Five years after the case was registered, the victim came to the police station to record her statement, in which she claimed that she was kidnapped by Bedwal after he confessed his love to her.
The victim divulged that he took her to the house of 'Seema Aunty' on the pretext of marriage and raped her. From there, the chain of selling and re-selling her for flesh trade began.
The minor girl was then sold four times by different people and eventually end up with Sonu Punjaban, who after using her for prostitution, sold her to three men. Following this, one of the men named Satpal married her.
"On February 7, 2014, the victim left the house of Satpal and on February 9, came to Police Station Najafgarh and on her statement, an FIR was registered, " the court said. Sonu Punjaban was then arrested in December 2017 and the charge sheet was filed in March 2018.
Sonu Punjaban was convicted for commission of offences such as procuration of minor, slavery, selling and buying minor for prostitution, poisoning, wrongful confinement and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.
Bedwal was convicted for kidnapping, procuration of minor, slavery, selling minor for prostitution, rape and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code.