A Pathankot court on Monday June 10 announced six of seven men guilty in the gang-rape, torture and killing of the eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua in January last year.
Those convicted by a special court in Pathankot are Sanji Ram, Anand Dutta, Parvesh Kumar, Deepak Khajuria, Surender Verma and Tilak Raj. Sanji Ram, who was believed to be the mastermind is former government officer
The court pronounced life imprisonment of 25 years to Sanji Ram, Parvesh Kumar and Deepak Khajuria in the Kathua rape and murder case. Three others, who have been found guilty for destruction of evidence, have been sentenced to five years in jail.
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 bashed in with a rock.
The child’s mutilated body was found in a forest area on January 17. Three days later, one of the accused – reportedly a juvenile – was arrested by police. The trial in his case is yet to begin because a petition on determining his age is yet to be heard by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
(This is a developing story. More details awaited in the case)
