Jhansi/Lucknow: A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda has sentenced a former government junior engineer and his wife to death for sexually abusing 33 minor boys over a decade.
Ram Bhawan, 50, and his wife Durgawati, 47, were convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Penal Code (IPC) for crimes committed between 2010 and 2020. The couple systematically lured boys, some as young as three, from economically weaker families in their neighbourhood using incentives like money, food, mobile phones, internet access, and online games, Special Public Prosecutor Rajendra Kumar Tiwari told PTI.
The court stated that their actions were in the “rarest of rare category” and offered no scope for reformation.
Once trust was gained, the victims were assaulted at the couple’s residence, the abuses were reportedly recorded on mobile phones and other digital devices. Prosecutors informed the court that these recordings were sold and circulated online, including internationally via the dark web.
The case came to light after Interpol flagged child sexual abuse material circulating on the dark web. After it was traced back to the couple, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) then took over the investigation. An FIR was registered by the CBI on October 31, 2020, against Ram Bhawan, Durgawati, and others. The allegations included sexual abuse and the creation and dissemination of child sexual abuse material.
During the investigation, officials seized digital devices and gathered electronic records. Medical examinations of the victims were conducted, and their statements were recorded. A chargesheet was filed on February 10, 2021.
The prosecution presented survivor testimonies, medical expert reports, and digital evidence recovered from seized phones and storage devices during the trial.
The court observed that the offences caused severe physical and psychological harm to the children. Some victims required hospital treatment for injuries, while others developed complications, including squint eyes. The judge noted that the abuse had continued for nearly a decade and involved a large number of children, describing the acts as systematic and exploitative.
In addition to the capital sentence, the court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each of the 33 victims.
