Park Street Rape : All Five Accused Convicted, Two Still on the Run

NEW DELHI: A Sessions Court in Kolkata has convicted three accused in the rape of Suzette Jordan who was raped in February, 2012. Out of total five accused, two, Md Ali and Kader Khan, are still on the run and an Interpol red corner notice is out for them. The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Friday.

The accused were found guilty under sections 376 (2)(g) (gangrape), 120B (criminal conspiracy) 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of IPC.

Nasir Khan, Ruman Khan, Sumit Bajaj and the two mentioned above had picked Jordan from a bar on the night of 6 February, 2012 and gang-raped her in a moving car. In her testimony, Jordan had said then that she had been hard up for money and was in desperate need of a stable job. The accused had, after promising her a job, asked her to join them in their car.

The case became widely known as ‘Park Street’ rape case and the victim’s testimony was neglected for a long time by the police. The CM of West Bengal, Mamata Bannerjee, had called the case “fabricated”, even before an inquiry could be started.

Jordan, a mother of two, refused to conceal her identity, which is not usual for rape victims in India. She revealed herself as the victim to the world a year after the incident and increasingly started participating in gender related issues and protests. On her decision to come out in the open she had then said, "I am a victim, I have been raped. Why should I hide my face? The rapists should hide their face instead."

After initial resistance, the police lodged the complaint but an inquiry was initiated into the incident after sustained efforts of the then Joint Commissioner of Kolkata Police (Crime) Damayanti Sen, who had believed the victim and maintained that she indeed was raped.

Suzette Jordan died of encephalitis this year in March.