Two Assam couples get RI in separate cases of molestation, drug trafficking

A local court in Assam's Biswanath district has sentenced a couple to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with a case involving the molestation of a girl.

Another husband-wife duo in Jorhat was handed down 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for dealing drugs.

The District and Sessions Judge of Biswanath pronounced the sentence against Jiten Bhumij and his wife Monika, an advocate appearing in the case said.

"The case relates to the molestation of 16-year-old niece of Jiten Bhumij. While the husband had molested the minor, the wife was an accomplice," she said.

The court convicted them under POCSO Act and sentenced them to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, slapping Rs 15,000 fine each on them. Failure to pay the amount would attract an additional jail term, the advocate added.

The Jorhat District and Sessions-cum-Special Judge, in a case under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, convicted husband-wife duo Bitul and Dipti Borah, police said.

The couple have been handed down 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000 each, with one month of additional jail term in the event of default in payment of the amount, they said.