'Peepli Live' co-director Farooqui gets seven years in rape case

New Delhi, Aug. 4 (AN): 'Peepli Live' co-director Mahmood Farooqui was sentenced seven years' of imprisonment by the Saket Court for raping a 35-year-old scholar from US's Columbia University, who was in India to conduct research for her doctoral thesis. The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 on the 44-year-old filmmaker to be paid to the rape victim, failing which he would have to undergo an additional imprisonment of three months. It also tasked the Delhi Legal Service Authority to decide appropriate compensation for the woman. The court had on Saturday convicted Farooqui for raping the American woman in 2015 and had fixed August 2 for arguments to finalise the quantum of sentence. The Delhi Police, which accused Farooqui of raping a 35-year-old American woman, has sought maximum punishment of life imprisonment for the filmmaker. Farooqui, however, denied the allegations, saying he was falsely implicated. Here is a timeline of the events: During arguments on the quantum of sentence, the Delhi Police had sought maximum punishment of life term for the convict, describing that he has committed a grave offence and his act tarnished the image of country. The complainant's counsel, however, had sought maximum punishment. Submitting before the court, he said Farooqui raped a foreign woman, who was invited for a dinner and he betrayed the friendship and trust of the woman. While, argued before the court, Farooqui's counsel, however, sought leniency, saying he had maintained good conduct during the trial and never tried to intimidate the victim. (ANI)