The Appellate Court in Hetauda has sentenced seven men in absentia to 10 years in prison in a 2014 gang rape case.

A division bench of Judge Ramesh Pokharel and Judge Nagendra Labh Karna announced the verdict on Tuesday, reversing the acquittal judgment handed down by the Bara District Court a year ago.

The seven men are now at large.

The Appellate Court has also ordered the convicts to pay Rs 10,000 each in damages to the victim.

On December 1, 2014, Intaj Ansari, Bibek Sah, Bablu Sah, Bikash Kumar Sah, Satis Singh, and Roshan Shreewastav of Kalaiya had raped the woman from Bariyapur near Gadhimai Temple during a religious fair.