LUCKNOW: A special court in Ambedkar Nagar on Saturday sentenced former Congress Seva Dal functionary Achchhan Khan, 50, to life imprisonment for raping a Dalit woman, who was his fellow party worker. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 22,000, with additional three-month jail term in case of non-payment.
Special Judge (SC/ST Act) Ramvilas Singh found Khan guilty under IPC sections 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The judgment came nearly seven years after the first incident of sexual assault was reported to have taken place.
According to special public prosecutor Sudip Mishra, the survivor, a grassroots Congress worker, alleged Khan first raped her on the evening of Sep 12, 2018, after barging into her home in Kanshiram Colony when she was alone. She testified in court that Khan, known to her through party work, physically restrained her, assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she spoke out and even used caste-ist slur to intimidate her.
Despite her attempts to seek justice, including lodging complaints at Akbarpur police station and approaching the then superintendent of police, no action was taken. No FIR was registered and no medical examination was conducted.
The woman alleged a second incident of sexual assault on Sep 17, 2020. She said Khan summoned her to a location in the Haria area under Basakhari police limits and raped her again. This time, she alleged, he took obscene pictures during the assault and later threatened to leak them online if she pursued legal action. One such partially nude photograph was allegedly circulated, adding to her trauma.
Frustrated over police inaction, the survivor sent a registered complaint to Ambedkar Nagar SP on Oct 31, 2020 but received no response. It was only after she moved the local court that Basakhari police were directed to file an FIR, which was finally registered on Sep 20, 2021. A chargesheet was submitted on Jan 28, 2022.
“The survivor’s detailed and consistent testimony under oath formed the backbone of the prosecution’s case,” said Prosecutor Mishra. “Despite initial lapses by law enforcement, we were able to secure a conviction based on the strength of her account and the supporting evidence.”
The court also observed that police delay in taking cognisance of the complaint impacted significantly the investigation timeline but did not weaken credibility of the survivor’s account.
