Death for three convicted of raping, murdering Pune techie in 2009

:A fast track court on Tuesday pronounced the death sentence for three prime accused in the sensational October 2009 gang rape and murder of software engineer Nayana Phatak-Pujari.

Special judge LL Yenkar, who on Monday convicted Yogesh Ashok Raut, Mahesh Balasaheb Thakur and Vishwas Hindurao Kadam for kidnapping robbing, gang-raping and then killing the woman, sentenced them to death after a hectic day full of arguments between the prosecution and defence lawyers.

Special public prosecutor Harshad Nimbalkar forcefully argued for death penalty for the convicts, terming it as “the rarest of rare cases” . He said that the prosecution managed to establish the complete chain of circumstances that led to the serious crime and said they deserved “the maximum punishment” under the laws.

“Considering the brutal manner in which the victim was gangraped and then killed, this falls under the category of rarest of rare case,” he said after the conviction. Another co-accused, Rajesh Pandurang Choudhari, who was arrested as an accomplice, later turned an approver and was granted pardon.

The victim’s husband and sisters had demanded the death penalty for the accused, and expressed satisfaction over the verdict. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR FORCEFULLY ARGUED FOR DEATH PENALTY FOR THE CONVICTS, TERMING IT AS ‘THE RAREST OF RARE CASES’