Mizoram church elder sentenced to ten years in prison for rape

A district and sessions court in Mizoram has sentenced a church elder to ten years in prison for raping a mentally challenged woman. Judge Vanlalenmawia of the Lunglei judicial district sentenced P Rohmingsanga (62) of Hnahthial district to ten years in prison and a fine of Rs 3,000 for the crime.

Rohmingsanga, who is married, was also reportedly a church elder of the second largest denomination in Mizoram. He was stripped of his position in the church following the incident. Rohmingsanga was convicted under Section 376(2)(l) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on June 18 and the verdict was announced on July 1.

According to the prosecution, the convict raped the mentally disabled woman in her shop on May 9, 2022. The victim later told the court that Rohmingsanga had raped her twice before.

First, the local church punished the woman according to church decree for her self-proclaimed extramarital sexuality and deprived Rohmingsanga of his leadership position.

Although the victim’s family was initially satisfied with the church’s punishment, Rohmingsanga, through his lawyer, threatened to file a defamation suit against them. This prompted the victim’s family to file a complaint at Hnahthial Police Station on July 22, 2022, which led to the registration of a rape case against the former church elder.