The Pocso court of the capital on Saturday awarded life imprisonment to the two convicts of gang-rape, Sarfaraz Ansari, 27, and Khursid Ansari, 25, and imposed fines of Rs 85,000 on each.

The special judge of the Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court, K.M.Prasad, delivered his judgment on quantum of punishment for the men who had raped a minor girl in Bariatu on the evening of August 31, 2019, when she had gone to photograph the scenic hillocks with a friend. The court had convicted Sarfaraz and Khursid on February 12.

A civil court lawyer said that the two accused, on a bike, had accosted the girl and her friend, and raped the girl in turns. They had threatened the girl of dire consequences in case she told about the incident to anyone, the lawyer said.

The lawyer said that the next day an FIR was filed in this connection at Sadar police station. “Traffic SP of the city Ajit Peter Dungdung had played a vital role in the identification and arrests of the rapists on the next day of crime by tracing the bike,” he said.

Eleven witnesses were produced by the prosecution and two by the defence during trial.

Sadar police station OC Venkatesh Kumar said the judgment came in less than six months of the crime. “The judgment has come as a deterrent,” he said. “The incident had terrorised parents with young girls.”