Chandigarh, June 6: A CBI court Wednesday sentenced five persons, including a former Border Security Force DIG, to 10 years in prison in the 2006 Jammu and Kashmir sex scandal. The quantum of sentence was pronounced by CBI special judge Gagan Geet Kaur here.
Those sentenced are former BSF deputy inspector general K C Padhi, former J&K deputy superintendent of police Mohammad Ashraf Mir and three others – Maqsood Ahmad, Shabir Ahmad Langoo, Shabir Ahmad Laway. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on Padhi and Mir. In case of default of payment, they will go through another year of rigorous imprisonment.
The court slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 each on Ahmad, Langoo and Laway and if they default, they will serve another six months in prison. The court had held the five guilty in the case on May 30. Two accused, including the then Additional Advocate General of J&K, were acquitted by the court.
The infamous J&K sex scandal had hit the headlines in 2006 when J&K police recovered two CDs showing Kashmiri minors being sexually exploited. The minors were coerced into prostitution and supplied to top police officials, bureaucrats, politicians and surrendered militants.
Those five men have been convicted under section 376 (rape) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). Prime accused Sabeena and her husband Abdul Hamid Bulla, who allegedly ran a brothel, died during the trial. During the investigation, J&K police prepared a list of 56 suspects including some high-profile people for their alleged involvement in the sex scandal.
The case was shifted to the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2006 after the names of some ministers also emerged in this case. The Supreme Court shifted the case to Chandigarh later that year. The then J&K chief minister Oman Abdullah had submitted his resignation in 2009 when an opposition leader linked him to the case. J&K Governor N N Vohra, however, refused to accept the resignation.