A special POCSO court in Banda, UP, has sentenced Ram Bhawan (50), a former junior engineer, and his wife Durgawati (47) to death for the systematic sexual abuse of 33 children between 2010 and 2020
The victims, some as young as 3 years old, were reportedly lured from economically weaker families in the Banda and Chitrakoot districts using money, food, mobile phones, video games, and gifts before being sexually assaulted.
Investigators found that the couple recorded videos and images of the abuse, with over two lakh objectionable files discovered on digital devices.
These were allegedly sold or shared on encrypted platforms and the dark web, with buyers in about 47 countries, forming an international exploitation network.
The court held the crimes to be “rarest of rare” because of their prolonged, organised nature and the severe physical and psychological harm inflicted on children, some of whom required hospital treatment and continue to suffer trauma.
Along with capital punishment, the court ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to pay ₹10 lakh in compensation to each victim and directed that cash seized from the accused’s home be shared among the survivors.
