A district court in Mizoram has sentenced two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in a case involving rape, murder, and acid attack nine years ago.

Nilanjan Das and Dinesh Kumar were charged under Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) relating to gang rape, rape causing grievous bodily harm, and acid attack. Although the decomposed body of one of the victims was found 11 days after the incident on July 16, 2017, they were acquitted of murder under the Section 302 of the IPC.

The other woman survived, but the acid attack disfigured her face and caused partial loss of vision.

The judgment and order, issued by Sylvie Zomuanpuii Ralte, the Additional District and Sessions Judge of Aizawl Judicial District, on June 12, was made public on Tuesday (June 16, 2026).

According to the judgment, the duo was sentenced to 20 years, 12 years, and 10 years of rigorous imprisonment respectively on three counts, and two months of simple imprisonment on failure to pay a fine of ₹20,000 for each offence.

“All the substantive sentences shall run concurrently,” the order read, while noting that the duo had served 144 days in detention during the trial, and that the convicts had the right to appeal against the judgment.

The court found Das and Kumar guilty in the 2017 case that occurred while they were posted at Silsuri West in Mamit district, along the India-Bangladesh border. The court examined the testimonies of 18 witnesses and reviewed all evidence presented during the trial.

Fatal foraging

The incident came to light after the brother of one of the victims lodged a First Information Report (FIR) at the Marpara police station on July 18, 2017 stating that his sister and her friend had gone towards the Gaskata river between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. two days prior to collect crabs and wild vegetables.

According to the FIR, two unknown persons gang-raped his sister and attacked her with a corrosive substance, causing grievous injuries to her face. Purno Nath, president of the Village Defence Party, later told the police that she had been raped in a jungle, and her friend had gone missing. 

After a medical examination at Mamit district’s Phuldungsei Primary Health Centre, the doctor said that the injuries suggested an attempt to disfigure or blind the victim, and that the findings were consistent with recent forceful sexual intercourse.

During the investigation, the investigating officer obtained duty details of the BSF personnel. The two convicted personnel were identified from the duty roster as having been assigned the duty of carrying food on the date and time proximate to the incident.

The statements of the two BSF men were recorded, although the “BSF authorities” initially “resisted attempts to arrest them and collect their biological samples”, necessitating further administrative intervention.

After extensive search operations, the police recovered the body of the victim’s friend, who had been missing. The body was in a decomposed state, but the surrounding circumstances and forensic indications suggested that her death was not accidental but homicidal in nature, and connected to the same incident.

On September 5, 2017 a judicial magistrate in Aizawl conducted a test identification parade, during which the victim identified the two accused as the perpetrators. Their arrest followed.