Two Indian-origin men in New Zealand jailed for rape

A court in New Zealand has given lengthy jail terms to two men of Indian origin for raping and abducting a 15-year-old girl in 2011.

The high court of Hamilton sentenced Benjamin Nilesh Goundar, 24, and Ashumendra Prasad, 27, to 16 years and 15 years in prison, respectively, for raping and abducting the 15-year-old and abducting her 17-year-old cousin in December 2011, local media reported Thursday.

The two had targeted the teenaged girls while they were walking on Boundary Road in Hamilton one night that December.

The accused have been found guilty of forcing the victims in their car and trying to rape them in a rural area.

While the 17-year-old managed to escape from their clutches and alert the police, the 15-year-old was raped in turns by Goundar and Prasad for five hours, the reports said.

Justice Ailsa Duffy ordered Goundar to serve a minimum of six-and-a-half years in prison before becoming eligible for parole and Prasad to a minimum of five-and-a-half years.