Kathua Gang Rape & Murder Case: NCW Chairperson Demands Death Penalty For Convicts

New Delhi: NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma has demanded capital punishment for the six convicts in the Kathua gangrape-murder case, saying the Jammu and Kashmir government should appeal in a higher court.

A special court in Pathankot on Monday sentenced to life imprisonment the three main accused in the gang rape and murder of an 8-year-old nomadic girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua, while awarding five years in jail to three others for the destruction of evidence.

Welcoming the judgement, Sharma said she was expecting capital punishment for the culprits. “The Jammu and Kashmir government must go for appeal in a higher court,” she said.

The girl, who belonged to a Muslim nomadic tribe, was kidnapped and held captive at a village temple in Kathua district on January 10 last year. She was drugged, starved and repeatedly raped for days. She was finally strangled and her head was dashed against a rock.

The child’s mutilated body was found in a forest area on January 17.

The investigations of the Crime Branch suggested that the girl was raped and murdered in an effort to strike fear among Muslim nomads frequenting the Kathua area of Jammu and to drive them out.

The special court has awarded a life sentence to Sanji Ram, Deepak Khajuria and Parvesh Verma. The three accused have been sentenced to 25 years for charges of gangrape and murder.

SI Anand Dutta and head constable Tilak Raj (who allegedly took Rs 4 lakh from Sanji Ram and destroyed crucial evidence) as well as special police officer Surender Verma, were sentenced to five years for destruction of evidence.

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