Ex-Newspaper Owner Gets 10 Life Terms for Raping Five Minor Girls in Bhopal

A special POCSO court in Bhopal has handed down one of the harshest sentences in recent memory, sending Pyare Miyan, a former newspaper owner, to 10 separate life terms for the rape and sexual assault of five minor girls. The judgment, pronounced on Tuesday, also carries a fine of Rs 77.64 lakh.

Miyan, 78, was convicted under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code. Of the 10 life sentences, eight are for the remainder of his natural life and two are standard life terms. All will run concurrently. The court also sentenced his accomplice, Rabia Bi, to 20 years in prison for her role as a facilitator.

According to the prosecution, Miyan had been targeting girls since 2014. He allegedly lured them with the promise of a job at his home for Rs 10,000 a month, then sexually assaultaed them. Rabia Bi, officials said, helped him carry out these crimes. Public Prosecutor PN Singh Rajput said the sentences followed the prosecution proving every charge against him.

The abuse came to light on July 11, 2020, when a victim opened up during a counselling session. She told officials she had been invited to a flat in Bhopal’s Shahpura area on the pretext of a birthday celebration, where she was forced to consume alcohol and was assaulted. Several other girls soon came forward with strikingly similar accounts, revealing a pattern of exploitation that had gone unnoticed for years.

The case drew a swift response at the time. A special investigation team was formed, and Miyan, who owned the Bhopal-based daily Dainik Afkar, was arrested in Srinagar in mid-July 2020 after a brief period on the run. Police said they seized material and vehicles from his properties in Bhopal and Indore, while the district administration razed a marriage hall and an apartment he had built on government land.

Police completed their investigation, and Miyan was tried alongside Rabia Bi and other accomplices. Six years after the case first shook the state capital, the court’s verdict closes a chapter that had left Bhopal horrified. Under Indian law, the identities of the survivors remain protected.