Kathua rape case: Mehbooba Mufti welcomes decision by Pathankot court

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday welcomed the judgment by the Pathankot court which convicted six out of seven accused in connection with the Kathua rape and murder case. "Welcome the judgment. 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 and culprits get exemplary punishment," muftis wrote on Twitter.

The case was related to the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl, belonging to a nomadic Muslim tribe, who was abducted, drugged, gang-raped, tortured and killed on January 10 last year. Earlier, the judge in the Pathankot court convicted village head Sanji Ram, two special police officers (SPOs) Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma, Head constable Tilak Raj, Anand Dutta, and Parvesh Kumar. Only Vishal, Sanjhi Ram's son has been acquitted.

The trial, which had begun in April 2018 against seven accused out of eight, concluded on June 3 last week. The trial of a juvenile is yet to begin as the petition on his age is yet to be heard by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

The Crime Branch had arrested village head Sanji Ram, his son Vishal, juvenile nephew and his friend Anand Dutta, and two special police officers Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma. Head Constable Tilak Raj and Sub-Inspector Anand Dutta, who allegedly took Rs 4 lakh from Sanji Ram and destroyed crucial evidence, were also arrested by the Crime Branch. 

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)