Remember Bholi Punjaban from Fukrey? Yes, of course, we all do. Richa Chadha played this iconic character. She was bold, fierce, and outrageous. Well, Bholi Punjaban was not a fictional character, she was inspired by Sonu Punjaban alias Geeta Arora.
Sonu Punjaban: Delhi’s Biggest Sex-Racket Operator
Sonu Punjaban is an unrepentant pimp who operated a sex-racket in several states of India. Her base of operation lay in South Delhi where she supplied girls, who were often kidnapped and drugged.
By the age of 20, she was renowned across North India for her ignoble deeds. She built illegal ties with several gangsters. Most of the gangsters she met died in encounters.
She was married twice but both of her husbands were also killed in an encounter. She took the last name of her second husband, Hemant Sonu.
24 Years Imprisonment
Sonu Punjaban ruthlessly involved herself in sex-racketing but she always managed to escape her sins. The law tried to punish her several times but she somehow managed to bamboozle the legislation.
Finally, on July 22, a local court in Delhi penalized her with 24-years of rigorous imprisonment. Her accomplice, Sandeep Bedwal has also been awarded 20-year imprisonment. Originally, they were arrested in 2017.
Sonu Punjaban also tried to commit suicide by taking medicines in Delhi’s Tihar Jail recently but she was rescued and taken to the hospital immediately.
Sonu Punjaban was booked by the Delhi Police in a case of forcing a girl into prostitution. Also, she had already been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Sandeep Bedwal was booked on charges of raping a minor girl.
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The court while announcing the punishment said, “Sonu Punjaban crossed all limits to be called a woman and deserves the severest punishment. A person, who does such horrific and terrible acts, has no rights to live in a civilized society and for her, the best place to live is the four boundaries of jail”.
According to a report by India Today, the court said in its order,
“Sonu Punjaban not only purchased the victim for prostitution but also brutalized her to make her surrender to her demands. She forcibly administered drugs to the victim so that she could not resist a customer who would sexually exploit her. She applied chilly powder on the breast of the victim and also put it into her mouth in order to create fear in her mind that she should act as per her wishes, otherwise be ready to face brutality. Sonu Punjaban beat the victim when she resisted following her commands”.
Failed Arrests
2017 is not the first time when she was arrested by the officials, earlier also many efforts were made to punish Sonu Punjaban for her evils.
In 2014, Sonu Punjaban was acquitted of the charges under the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime by a Delhi court due to a lack of evidence.
In 2011, the Delhi Police arrested her when they got some pieces of evidence of her being involved in running a flesh trade racket. Before 2011, she was arrested twice by the police from Preet Vihar and Saket.
In 2007, she was arrested under sections of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act but got bail somehow. The next year she was again arrested for the same offence.
According to some reports, she is also allegedly involved in a murder case in Haryana.
In 2020 finally, the court made its decision and punished Sonu Punjaban for her inhuman activities.
It would have been better if she had been put to justice sooner. Many heinous crimes committed by her could have been prevented. Still, this judgment brings hope that more such criminals could be put behind bars before it’s too late.
Image credits: Google Images
Source: India Today, Times of India, The Hindu
Find the blogger: @dikks09
This post is tagged under: 24 years, Bholi Punjaban, child abuse, child sexual abuse, end trafficking, imprisonment, Sonu Punjaban, arrested, child trafficking, Court, crime, criminal, fukrey, geeta arora, Human rights, jailed, judge, justice, kidnapping, richa chadha, rigorous imprisonment, sentence, Sex Trafficking, trafficking
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