A local court in Delhi has awarded 24 years of rigorous imprisonment to Sonu Punjaban, who has been one of Delhi’s biggest sex racket operators with a deep nexus with gangsters in north India. Sonu Punjaban, alias Geeta Arora, was given the punishment by the Dwarka District Court. Her accomplice, Sandeep Bedwal, has also been sent to 20-year imprisonment.
The Delhi Police had booked Sonu Punjaban in a case related to forcing a minor girl into prostitution. Meanwhile, Sandeep Bedwal was booked on charges of raping the minor girl. The court has upheld both these charges.
Recently, Sonu Punjaban tried to commit suicide in Delhi’s Tihar Jail by consuming medicines. She was taken to a hospital where she recovered following treatment.
Announcing the punishment, the court said Sonu Punjaban “crossed all limits to be called a woman and deserves severest punishment”.
“Sonu Punjaban not only purchased the victim for prostitution but she also brutalised her to make her surrender to her demands. She forcibly administered drugs to the victim so that she could not resist a customer who would sexually exploit her. She applied chilly powder on the breast of the victim and also put it into her mouth in order to create fear in her mind that she should act as per her (Sonu Punjaban’s) wishes, otherwise be ready to face brutality. Sonu Punjaban beat the victim when she resisted to follow her commands,” the court said in its order.
