Sonu Punjaban moves Delhi HC against conviction, sentence in human trafficking case
Aug 26, 2020
New Delhi [India], Aug 26 : Geeta Arora alias Sonu Punjaban, who was recently sentenced to 24 years imprisonment in a human trafficking case has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the conviction and sentence awarded to her by a trial court.
A single-judge bench of justice Manoj Kumar Ohri on Wednesday asked Delhi Police to file a reply on the plea and listed the matter for further hearing on October 9.
Sonu Punjaban, in her plea filed through advocate RM Tufail and Astha, sought to set aside the trial court judgement convicting her in the case.
A trial court in Delhi's Dwarka had on July 16 convicted Sonu Punjaban in connection with a kidnapping and human trafficking case and sentenced her to 24 years imprisonment saying that "she has crossed all limits to be called a woman" and "deserves the severest punishment".
The court had also said that Punjaban not only purchased the victim for prostitution but she also brutalized her to make her surrender to her demands. It had also sentenced another accused named Sandeep Bedwal to 20 years in prison under charge of raping a minor girl.
According to the police, the girl fell in love with Sandeep, who took her to a house in Laxmi Nagar on the pretext of marriage and raped her in September 2009. He sold the victim, who was 12 years old at the time, to one Seema Aunty.
Seema Aunty forced the victim into prostitution and gave her drugs injection, police said based on the statement of the minor girl and added that she was sold several times and once to convict Sonu Punjaban.
Sonu Punjaban used her for prostitution and before sending her to customers also administered drugs such as proxyvon and alprex tablets and also injected drugs to the victim so that the body of the victim became tight and more suitable for prostitution, the police said.
The victim had come to Najafgarh police station on February 9, 2014, and after counselling, her statement was recorded by the police, wherein she narrated her ordeal.
