Kathua rape-murder case: Three sentenced to life, 3 others get 5 years in jail
10 Jun 2019
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Three main convicts in the brutal rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in Kathua, including temple priest Sanjhi Ram, Deepak Khajuria and Pravesh Kumar, have been sentenced to life imprisonment while three other convicts in the case, including three policemen policemen - Surender Verma, Anand Dutta and Tilak Raj - have been awarded 5-year jail term.
A special court in Pathankot, Punjab, while convicting the six in the brutal rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, earlier in the day, let off Vishal, son of one Sanjhi Ram.
The closed-door hearing in the case was completed on 3 June, during which district and sessions judge Tejvinder Singh had announced that the date of verdict. On Monday, all accused in the case were convicted under the Ranbir Penal Code.
The six have been charged under sections which pertain to those dealing with kidnapping, rape as well as destruction of evidence, among others.
Vishal who was also one of the accused, has in fact been away withdrawing money from an ATM in Muzzafarnagar around the time time investigative officers claimed he was in Kathua. "I would like to thank Zee News for accessing the ATM footage. We are grateful. We have always said my son is innocent. My husband too is innocent and it would be proven," said an emotional mother of Vishal.
According to Jammu and Kashmir police, the girl was abducted on 10 January 2018 and held captive at a temple in a village in Kathua district. She was kept unconscious for almost four days, during which she was raped. Following the heinous act, the child was brutally murdered. The hearing in the case was conducted on a day-to-day basis in the district and sessions court in Pathankot in Punjab. The case was transferred to Pathankot on the orders of the Supreme Court.
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