Kathua case verdict: 3 get life imprisonment, 3 others 5 years' jail term

Pathankot: A court here on Monday sentenced to life imprisonment the three main accused in the gangrape-and-murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua, while awarding five years in jail to three others for destruction of evidence, lawyers said.

After nearly a year-long trial, the court held the six guilty in the case that sparked nation-wide outrage, while acquitted another accused Vishal Jangotra, son of mastermind Sanji Ram, giving him the ‘benefit of doubt’, according to Mubeen Farooqi, who represented the victim’s family in the court.

The prosecution had sought capital punishment for them.

The three have been sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs one lakh each after being convicted for criminal conspiracy and murder, the prosecution lawyer said.

Life imprisonment will mean they will be in jail till the end of their natural life, he said.

They have also been handed over different jail terms for various offences under the RPC which will run concurrently with the life term, he said.

Each of their three accomplices – Sub Inspector Anand Dutta, Head Constable Tilak Raj and special police officer Surender Verma, have been convicted for destruction of evidence to cover up and handed down five years in jail and Rs 50,000 fine each, he said.

If they do not deposit the fine, they will have to serve an additional six months in jail, he said.

The court pronounced the much-awaited verdict away from the gaze of media which gathered outside the premises.

The crime branch of J&K Police had filed the chargesheet against eight persons, including a juvenile.

The trial against the juvenile is yet to begin as his petition on determining his age is to be heard by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

According to the 15-page chargesheet filed in April last year, the girl was kidnapped on January 10 that year and was raped in captivity in a small village temple, exclusively manned by Ram, after having been kept sedated for four days. She was later bludgeoned to death.

The charges of rape and murder were framed by the district and sessions judge against seven of the eight accused.

The court framed charges under relevant sections of the Ranbir Penal Code(RPC), including Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder) and 376-D (gang-rape), according to the prosecution.

The court also framed charges of destruction of evidence and causing hurt by poisoning under Section 328 of the RPC.