"Justice wasn't served": Father of Mandsaur gang rape victim after SC stays death sentence of accused
Feb 11, 2025
Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], February 11 : Father of the rape victim in the Mandasaur gang rape case expressed his disappointment with the Supreme Court staying the death sentences of two accused in the case and said justice wasn't served on the matter.
He further demanded the two accused to be hanged as soon as possible.
This came after the apex court issued a stay order on January 16 on the death sentences of the accused, Irfan and Asif, who were charged with the rape and attempted murder of a 6-year-old girl back in 2018 in Mandsaur district, just a few months after the state assembly polls.
The court further ordered a retrial on the matter, stating that the statement from the person who did the DNA test was not recorded.
"There were two accused who were sentenced to death by the Mandsaur court and Indore High Court but there has been some mistake in this case, on which the Supreme Court has ordered to stay the death sentence... We did not get justice; we want the accused to be hanged as soon as possible," the victim's father said.
In 2018, the victim was taken away by the two accused from her school, following which they allegdly raped her. Later, the police arrested the two accused and both of them were sentenced to death by the Mandsaur Court on August 21, 2018. The decision was also upheld by the Indore High Court after a retrial on September 9, 2021.
Accused Irfan and Asif appealed to the Supreme Court, in which questions were raised about DNA and scientific evidence. After the hearing, instead of maintaining the death sentence, the Supreme Court ordered the case to be run again in the trial court, in which experts who examine scientific evidence have been ordered to give statements and cross-examine them.
Amit Dubey, the amicus curiae given by the court to the accused, also spoke on the case.
"It was an incident of 26 June 2018, according to the prosecution. A girl had disappeared from school; she was taken away by two boys who raped her... Irfan and Asif were made accused in this case, who were sentenced to death by the Mandsaur Court on August 21, 2018," he said.
"The Indore High Court also upheld the death sentence on September 9, 2021, after a retrial...Irfan and Asif later appealed in the Supreme Court, in which questions were raised about DNA and scientific evidence. After the hearing, instead of maintaining the death sentence, the Supreme Court ordered the case to be run again in the trial court, in which experts who examine scientific evidence have been ordered to give statements and cross-examine them," the advocate added.
