Kottayam: The mastermind of the sensational Vithura sex racket case, Suresh alias Shamsudheen Muhammed Shajahan, has been awarded 24 years rigorous imprisonment by the Additional District Sessions Court in Kottayam on Friday. However, he will have to undergo the sentence for 10 years.
A Rs 1.09 lakh fine also has been imposed by the court.
The court charged him under various sections of the IPC, including 344 (wrongful confinement for 10 or more days) and 372 (selling minor for the purpose of prostitution) and Section 3(1) and 5(1)(g)(ii) of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act and sentenced him to various terms from 2 to 10 years.
The court, while imposing the fine on him, directed that the amount, if realised, be given to the rape survivor.
It also ordered the state government to pay adequate compensation to the girl, the quantum of which shall be determined by the district legal service authority.
On Thursday, the court had found the 52-year-old prime accused guilty in one of the 24 cases registered against him in connection with the rape and sale of a minor girl for sex work 25 years ago.
Suresh, a native of Kadakkal in Kollam, was accused of raping the victim and forcing her into flesh trade after keeping her in illegal custody for several days.
The court had earlier declared him a fugitive in various cases as he had gone absconding soon after the incident in 1996. Later, Suresh surrendered before the court in 2014 following the acquittal of the other accused in the case that year. But soon, he vanished again during the trial. However, he was nabbed five years later by the Crime Branch wing of the Kerala Police from Hyderabad.
The girl from Vithura near Thiruvananthapuram was raped by several people between November 1995 and May 1996. She was allegedly lured by Ajitha Beegam, a distant relative of the girl, with a job offer.
The minor was handed over to Suresh by Ajitha on November 21, 1995. Ajitha later died in a road accident.
(With inputs from PTI)
