The Fast Track Special Court has sentenced a man to 11 years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed fines on multiple charges following a brutal 2014 assault on a female neighbour in Maina Patto, Camurlim. Two co-accused women were also convicted and sentenced for their roles in the assault, restraint and intimidation. According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on June 23, 2014, after an altercation between neighbouring families. The victim was dragged into the accused persons’ house, where she was forcibly held on the ground, beaten with a cement stone, a wooden danda and fists, and drenched with chilli and turmeric powder. The convicted man disrobed the victim and forcefully stuffed chilli and turmeric powder into her private parts. The trial court held that stuffing chilli and turmeric powder into the victim’s private parts falls within the statutory definition of rape under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code.