Dhruvi Modi

Six people accused for the gruesome rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl from Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir last January have been found guilty. 17 months after the heinous crime was committed, a special court in Pathankot announced its verdict. While three of the accused have been convicted for five years imprisonment, three have been sentenced for life.

Tejwinder Singh, the District and Sessions judge in at Pathankot convicted the village head of Rasana Sanji Ram, special police officers Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma, Sub Inspector Anand Dutta, and Head Constable Tilak Raj in the case. However, another accused, Vishal, the son of the village head, has been acquitted for lack of evidence.

According to a report, the accused have been convicted under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Sanji Ram, Deepak, and Parvesh Kumar have been held guilty and sentenced for life imprisonment for kidnapping, rape and murder. The rest of the accused, who are police officials; Anand, Tilak, and Surinder have been convicted for destruction of evidence and sentenced for five years imprisonment.

The trial which was conducted on a daily basis was completed on June 3 at the Pathankot Court in Punjab. Investigation by the state crime branch brought the accused eight, including a minor, to light. Forensic evidence sought by the state crime branch confirmed the involvement of the accused in the case.   

After the news of the abduction, rape, and murder of the 8-year-old child that took place on January 10 last year, the country saw massive public outrage, demanding justice for such a heinous crime against the little girl. According to the chargesheet, the minor girl was kidnapped, starved, drugged, raped, and held captive there for several days. She was later strangulated and had her head beaten up as well.

This case had also caused a political rift between the then allies BJP and PDP, which then brought the inevitable resignation of two BJP ministers Choudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga, who attended a rally for the accused at Rasana.