Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti Monday welcomed a court order convicting six accused in the Kathua rape-and-murder case.
“Amen to that. The guilty deserve the most severe punishment possible under law. And to those politicians who defended the accused, vilified the victim & threatened the legal system no words of condemnation are enough,” Abdullah tweeted.
He was reacting to the Pathankot court verdict convicting six of the seven accused in the rape-and-murder case of the eight-year-old nomadic girl in Rasana area of Kathua district in January last year.
Peoples Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone Monday welcomed the verdict of the special court at Pathankot to convict six of the seven accused in the heinous Rassana rape and murder case.
Hailing the verdict of the court PC Chairman said, “I welcome the decision of the court to convict most of the accused in the Kathua rape and murder case. Those convicted must be given strict punishment to set a strong deterrent for the perpetrators of such heinous crimes. True justice for the 8-year-old will be when such crimes against the women stop in the society.”
PC Chairman also appreciated the role of J&K Police in the initial investigation and charge sheeting of the accused in the case.
“Welcome the judgement. 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 & culprits get exemplary punishment,” Mehbooba tweeted.
Bureaucrat-turned-politician Shah Faesal and CPI(M) leader MY Tarigami also welcomed the verdict saying justice has prevailed.
NCW chairperson demands capital punishment for convicts
New Delhi, Jun 10: NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma Monday demanded capital punishment for the six convicts in the sensational Kathua gang rape-murder case, saying the Jammu and Kashmir government should appeal in higher court.
A court in Pathankot on Monday sentenced to life imprisonment the three main accused in the gang rape and murder of an 8-year-old nomadic girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua, while awarding five years in jail to three others for destruction of evidence.
Sharma welcomed the conviction, but said she was expecting capital punishment for the culprits.
“The Jammu and Kashmir government must go for appeal in higher court,” she said.
The girl was kidnapped on January 10 last year and gang raped in captivity in a small village temple in Kathua after having been kept sedated for four days. She was later bludgeoned to death.
The incident led to a countrywide outcry and the trial was held on day-to-day basis at the district and sessions court in Pathankot.(PTI)
