A local court in Bulandshahr on Monday (Dec 22) sentenced all five convicts in the infamous Bulandshahr NH-91 gang rape case to life imprisonment, marking the culmination of a prolonged trial that lasted nearly nine years. The verdict comes in a case that had drawn nationwide outrage over the brutality of the crime and concerns over highway safety.
The horrific incident took place on the night of July 29, 2016, when a family of five was travelling by car from Noida to Shahjahanpur. As they approached Dostpur village on National Highway-91, within the jurisdiction of Bulandshahr’s Kotwali Dehat police station, the accused stopped the vehicle by placing an iron rod on the road.
After forcing the family out of the car, the attackers dragged them, along with the vehicle, into nearby agricultural fields. There, the accused brutally gang-raped the mother and her daughter, while the remaining family members were held captive and rendered helpless.
The case had triggered widespread public anger at the time, raising serious questions about women’s safety, particularly on highways during night travel.
Reacting to the verdict, Additional District Government Counsel Varun Kaushik said the court’s decision was intended to send a clear and unequivocal message that such offenders have no place in society.
“All five convicts have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the court today. The court has conveyed that criminals who commit such heinous acts must be kept away from society,” Kaushik said.
Recalling the circumstances of the crime, he reiterated that the case involved not just sexual violence but also robbery and intimidation on a public highway.
“In 2016, a rape and robbery incident took place on the Dostpur stretch of National Highway-91. The perpetrators committed the heinous act of gang-raping a mother and her daughter while the family was travelling by car,” he added.
According to the prosecution, forensic and DNA evidence played a decisive role in securing the convictions. Kaushik said one of the strongest pieces of evidence was the recovery of DNA linking one of the accused directly to the crime.
“The most crucial evidence in this case was that the DNA of one of the criminals was found on the clothes of the victim’s mother,” he said, underlining the importance of scientific evidence in cases of sexual violence.
The prosecution also relied on eyewitness accounts, medical examinations and other corroborative material to establish the sequence of events and the involvement of the accused.
A chargesheet had originally been filed against six accused in the case. However, one of them died in jail in 2019, during the course of the trial, leaving five to face the final judgement.
“A charge sheet was filed against six criminals. One of the accused died in jail during the trial in 2019,” the Additional District Government Counsel confirmed.
The verdict brings an end to a long and emotionally draining legal process for the victims and their family, who have pursued justice for nearly a decade. While the sentence has been welcomed by legal observers as a stern punishment, the case once again underscores the persistent challenges related to crimes against women and the need for fast trials.
