HALL OF SHAME

The accused and their role in the gang rape and murder of the eight-year-old, according to the charge sheet filed by the crime branch:

Sanji Ram, 60: A Brahmin, he retired as a girdawar from the revenue department. He is the main conspirator who reportedly wanted to dislodge the nomadic Muslim Bakarwal community from his native Rasana village. He incited his nephew, an alleged minor, to abduct the eight-year-old as revenge for the Bakarwals having beaten up the boy in the past

Sanji Ram’s nephew: Sanji Ram’s nephew who is 15, (19 according to a DNA report said the charge sheet), was expelled from his school in Sikdi, Hiranagar for unruly behaviour with girls. He is an alcoholic and a drug user says the charge sheet. On January 13, he strangulated the girl to death before bludgeoning her face with a stone twice

Deepak Khajuria: A special police officer, who had a bone to pick with the Bakarwals, Deepak convinced Sanji Ram’s nephew to kidnap the girl with the assurance that he would help him get through his board exams Parvesh Kumar, alias Mannu: A friend whom the juvenile took into confidence to execute the plan. On January 10, the juvenile and Parvesh drugged the girl in a forest. The juvenile raped her. Parvesh also attempted to rape her. They took the unconscious girl to Sanji Ram’s Devasthan (temple) and locked her up. There, she was drugged and gang-raped repeatedly

Vishal Jangotra, alias Shamma: Sanji Ram’s son who studies in Meerut, he raped the girl with the juvenile who called him and asked him to return “in case he wanted to satisfy his lust”. On January 13 morning, Vishal and the juvenile gang-raped the girl inside the Devasthan. On the same day, Parvesh, Vishal and the juvenile took the victim from the Devasthan to a nearby culvert, on Sanji Ram’s directions, to kill her Tilak Raj: A head constable, he struck a deal with Sanji Ram on January 12. He took ~1.5 lakh from Sanji Ram’s sister, Tripta Devi, to scuttle the probe. Tripta and Tilak were good friends and classmates at the government primary school in Dhamiyal

Anand Dutta: A sub inspector, he was paid ~3 lakh in all by January 13 through Tilak. After the girl’s body was recovered on January 17, he was paid another ~1 lakh and he asked the juvenile to stick to a tutored version of events. A deal was struck at ~5 lakh for Anand and Tilak so they would tamper with evidence by washing the girl’s bloodstained clothes and leaving out other evidence Surinder Kumar: A special police officer, he conducted a recce of the surroundings of Sanji Ram’s Devasthan on January 14