Maharashtra’s ‘Nirbhaya’ case: 3 get death penalty

AHMEDNAGAR, Maharashtra: A Special Court on Wednesday awarded death sentence to three men convicted in the rape and brutal murder of a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Kopardi village in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district in 2016.

Jitendra alias Pappu Babulal Shinde, 26, Santosh Gorkha Bhawal, 30, and Nitin Gopinath Bhailume, 28, were given the death penalty for rape, conspiracy, murder and other crimes, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the media after the verdict.

Ahmednagar District and Sessions Judge Suvarna Keole had on November 18 found them guilty. On Wednesday, she pronounced the verdict under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act before a packed courtroom.

The judge has allowed the convicts to appeal before the Bombay High Court against the death sentence, demanded forcefully by the prosecution last week.

“We shall challenge not only the verdict but the entire proceedings before the High Court, the lapses and other issues on which we have already given our written submission to the Sessions Court,” the lawyers for Bhawal, Balasaheb Khopade and Vijayalaxmi Khopade, said.

The crime took place on July 13, 2016 when the 15-year-old was abducted, raped, mutilated and killed, sparking off a casteist and political furore in Maharashtra.

That evening, the Class 9 student had gone out to fetch some spices from her grandmother’s home in the same village.

“Justice has finally been done. My daughter will never return. This is the real tribute to my daughter. We are grateful to (Ujjwal) Nikam Saheb,” the victim’s mother said before breaking down inconsolably outside the courtroom.

The verdict was hailed across the Maharashtra political spectrum. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the trial was conducted in a record time and it would serve as a warning to all rapists.

A large number of people staged a noisy protest outside the court demanding that the death sentence verdict be implemented as soon as possible to serve as a warning to potential offenders.