Indian jailed for life for knife-point rape of Spanish woman in Mumbai
A rapist who attacked a young Spanish woman at knifepoint after breaking into her apartment in Mumbai was jailed for life yesterday.
A rapist who attacked a young Spanish woman at knifepoint after breaking into her apartment in Mumbai was jailed for life yesterday.
Mohammed Badshah Ansari, 28, was handed the sentence after a trial heard details of how he broke into the flat through a window in November last year and then raped the victim twice while threatening her with a knife.
The victim - who had travelled to India to learn classical music - left for Germany after the attack but testified about her ordeal via video link. She cannot be named for legal reasons.
"The court has to keep in mind the interest of the society at large and the case does not have any ground for leniency," Judge Shalini Phansalkar Joshi said as he announced the sentence in Mumbai.
The court has to keep in mind the interest of the society …
Ansari, who has a long criminal record, was found guilty earlier this month of rape, robbery, criminal intimidation and trespass after his trial in the Mumbai sessions court. He had pleaded for leniency as he has a family dependent on him.
The sentencing comes as India prepares to mark the first anniversary of the death of a physiotherapy student who had been gang-raped on a moving bus in New Delhi.
