Punjaban(35), has been one of Delhi’s biggest sex racket operators with a deep nexus with gangsters in north India. Yesterday Sonu Punjaban, alias Geeta Arora, was given the punishment by the Dwarka District Court.
The court sentenced Punjaban to two jail terms while stating that she would stay in jail for 25 years:
- Term of 14 years for offences under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
- Term of 10 years for other offences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Sonu has been sentenced under sections 328, 342, 366A, 372, 373, 120B of IPC. Along with sections 4, 5 and 6 Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act.
Her accomplice, Sandeep Bedwal(41), was also sentenced to two jail terms making 20-year imprisonment in total:
- 10 years for kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, procuration of minor girl. Also, selling a minor girl for prostitution and criminal conspiracy.
- 10 years for offences under section 376 (rape) of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The court also imposed fines of Rs 64,000 and Rs 65,000 on Punjaban and Bedwal, respectively. Also stated that she deserved the severest punishment provided under law for purchasing the minor for prostitution and brutalising her. The court directed the Delhi State Legal Services Authority(DSLSA) to pay a compensation of Rs 7 lakh to the girl.
While sentencing Sonu, Additional Session Judge Pritam Singh, stated that she had cross all limits to be called a woman. How a woman can outrage and brutalise the modesty of another woman, who is minor, in such a horrific way. And also added that the shameful deeds of convict Geeta Arora deprives her of any leniency from the court.
Who is Sonu Punjaban?
Geeta Arora also known as Sonu Panjaban, is the real-life pimp who inspired actress Richa Chadha’s character in Fukrey. According to police record, she ran one of the biggest prostitution rackets in Delhi and nearby states in early 2000. She supplied girls, including minors, who were often kidnapped, drugged and raped. She also supplied aspiring models and actresses in posh localities, five-star hotels and farmhouses of Delhi for sexual services.
When was she convicted?
Sonu Punjaban and her associate Sandeep Bedwal were convicted by the Delhi court for kidnapping, human trafficking and prostitution. The case pertains to a 12-year-old girl who was kidnapped by Bedwal on September 11, 2009. The minor was sold multiple times to different people including Punjaban, for the purpose of prostitution. Sonu was alleged to administer drugs into the body of the victim to make it “more suitable for prostitution”.
The court had convicted both on 17thJuly, holding that the prosecution had successfully proved the charges “beyond reasonable doubt”.
Five years after the case was registered,
the victim came to the police station to record her statement. Where she claimed that she was kidnapped by Bedwal after he confessed his love to her.
The victim divulged that he took her to the house of ‘Seema Aunty’ on the pretext of marriage and raped her. From there, the chain of selling and re-selling her for the flesh trade began.
The minor girl was then sold four times by different people and eventually end up with Sonu Punjaban. She, after using her for prostitution, sold her to three men. Following this, one of the men named Satpal married her.
Apart from this case,
Punjaban has five other cases involving murder, immoral trafficking Act and the POCSO Act against her. This is her first conviction in the multiple crimes. Punjaban was arrested in December 2017 from a hideout in Delhi and presently lodged in Mandoli jail in judicial custody.
Four days back, the notorious human trafficker attempted suicide inside the premises of Tihar jail. She was serving a jail term in connection with cases of kidnapping and prostitution. She was taken to Deen Dayal hospital after she consumed an excessive amount of pills meant for headache.
