Banda horror case ends in death penalty for couple who exploited 33 minors

In a chilling verdict that underscores the gravity of crimes against children, a special POCSO court in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda has sentenced a suspended junior engineer and his wife to death for the sexual abuse of multiple minors and the circulation of pornographic material involving them online.

Describing the offences as falling within the “rarest of rare” category, the court awarded capital punishment to Ram Bhawan and his wife Durgawati, holding them guilty under various provisions of the IPC, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the IT Act.

The case was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which registered the FIR in October 2020. According to the agency, the couple orchestrated the sexual exploitation of at least 33 minor children, recording the abuse and circulating the content online — including through the darknet.

‘Unparalleled depravity’

Pronouncing the sentence, Special Judge Pradeep Kumar Mishra observed that the crimes reflected “unparalleled depravity” and a systemic pattern of abuse. The court found the accused guilty of offences including aggravated penetrative sexual assault, unnatural offences, using children for pornographic purposes, storage of child sexual abuse material, abetment and criminal conspiracy.

The prosecution examined 74 witnesses during the trial, including 25 victims. Investigators recovered 34 videos and 678 photographs of the abused children, government counsel Kamal Singh said.

The court also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pay ₹10 lakh as compensation to each victim. Additionally, the cash seized from the accused’s residence — including ₹8.27 lakh — is to be distributed equally among the survivors.

Arrests and investigation

Ram Bhawan, 48, a suspended junior engineer with the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department, was arrested in November 2020 from Chitrakoot, his last place of posting. He had earlier served in Hamirpur and Banda districts. His wife, 45-year-old Durgawati, was arrested a month later. Though she had been out on bail, she was taken into custody after being convicted.

The prosecution said Ram Bhawan had abused children across Banda, Chitrakoot and adjoining areas for nearly a decade, allegedly targeting at least 50 minors. The acts were recorded and sold online.

Searches at the couple’s residence led to the seizure of mobile phones, laptops, a web camera, pen drives, memory cards and other electronic storage devices containing incriminating material. The CBI also stated that an examination of the accused’s email accounts revealed alleged communication with individuals in India and abroad for sharing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CASM).

Durgawati was accused of actively aiding the crimes, threatening witnesses and concealing evidence linked to her husband’s activities.

Appeal likely

Defense counsel Bhura Prasad Nishad said the couple would challenge the verdict in a higher court.

The sentencing marks one of the most severe punishments awarded in a child sexual abuse case in recent years, with the court emphasizing the scale, brutality and organized nature of the crimes in invoking the “rarest of rare” doctrine — a standard reserved for the most heinous offences under Indian law.