Kathua Rape & Murder Case: Lifer For Mastermind Sanji Ram & 2 Others, 5 Year Term For 3 Cops
Pathankot: A special court in Pathankot on Monday convicted six out of seven people accused in the Kathua rape and murder case, one year after the horrifying incident occurred.
Temple priest and village head Sanji Ram, the main accused in the case, was convicted with 5 others including two special police officers and a police constable.
However, Sanji Ram’s son Vishal was acquitted of all charges in the case as he was able to successfully produce an alibi to prove his innocence.
Court Verdict:
The 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.
All the accused were arrested for the rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua region.
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 court verdict was lauded by National Conference leader Omar Abdullah as well as former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti, who took to Twitter to welcome the decision.
Amen to that. The guilty deserve the most severe punishment possible under law. And to those politicians who defended the accused, vilified the victim & threatened the legal system no words of condemnation are enough. #KathuaRapeCase https://t.co/gL2FfRL3rJ
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) June 10, 2019
Welcome the judgement. High time we stop playing politics over a heinous crime where an 8 year old child was drugged, raped repeatedly & then bludgeoned to death. Hope loopholes in our judicial system are not exploited & culprits get exemplary punishment https://t.co/jBuRUdGa5h
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) June 10, 2019
Relieved about Kathua verdict. Credit goes to crime branch team lead by IGP Mujtaba, SSP Jala, Addl SP Naveed , Dep SP Shwetambri ,@DeepikaSRajawat & Talib for ensuring facts came to light despite hindrances. People all across 🇮🇳 too galvanised support & stood up for this child
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) June 10, 2019
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