Surat: A sessions court here sentenced a monk of the Jain Digambar sect to 10 years in prison for raping a 19-year-old college student seven years ago.
Additional district and sessions judge AK Shah also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on 56-year-old Shantisagarji Maharaj, reported PTI.
The court convicted Shantisagarji Maharaj after considering testimonies of the young woman and other prosecution witnesses, besides the medical report and CCTV footage, said public prosecutor Nayan Sukhadwala.
Shantisagar, who has been in prison since October 2017, will have to serve out the remaining two-and-a-half years of jail time.
“The prosecution had sought a life sentence for him, highlighting the mental and physical trauma the victim underwent after being raped by someone her family revered,” Sukhadwala told PTI.
The incident took place at Surat’s Jain Dharamshala in October 2017.
The monk had tried to contact her on phone before that after getting her mobile number from her father, who was his disciple, the woman told police.
On October 1, 2017, the woman, her father and elder brother arrived at Mahavir Digambar Jain Temple after travelling from their Vadodara home, and went to Jain Dharmashala where the accused was residing.
The monk made her father and brother sit in different rooms, performed some rituals through mantras and asked them not to come out till he gave them permission, the woman stated in her complaint.
The Jain monk then went to the room where she was alone and raped her after warning that if she protested, her family members would face bad consequences.
