The crucial verdict in the two gangrape cases in Mumbai's Shakti Mills compound was announced today (March 19). The first case pertains to the gang-rape of a 22-year-old magazine photojournalist who had gone to the deserted Shakti Mills compound in Central Mumbai with a male colleague on an assignment on August 22, 2013. Five men, (including a juvenile, whose case was separated) are accused of raping her there after assaulting her colleague. The accused in this case, namely, Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali, Salim Ansari and Siraj Rehman (and the minor boy), are charged with rape, conspiracy, common intention, unnatural sex and offences under the Information Technology Act. The other case is of an 18-year-old telephone operator who was allegedly gang-raped by five persons (including three of the accused in the first case) on the same premises on July 31 last year. The accused in this case are Mohammed Ashfaq Sheikh, Mohamed Kasim Hafiz Sheikh alias Kasim Bengali, Salim Ansari, Vijay Jadhav and a minor. The minor's case was separated.
