Kopardi rape case: 3 convicts get death sentence

The crime took place on
July 13, 2016 when 15-year-old was abducted, raped, mutilated and killed,
sparking off a casteist and political furore in Maharashtra
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NEWS : A Special Court on Wednesday awarded death
sentence to all three accused convicted in the rape
and brutal murder of a 15-year-old school girl 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 sentenced to death for rape,
conspiracy, murder and other crimes, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam
told the media after the verdict.
Earlier, finding them guilty on November 18, Ahmednagar
District and Sessions Judge Suvarna Keole, 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.
"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, told IANS.
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 was 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.
Nikam said: "The prime accused Shinde has been
convicted and fined for committing the offences of molestation, rape and brutal
murder while the other two, Bhawal and Bhailume, provoked him (Shinde), encouraged,
conspired and abetted in the crimes."
The verdict has been hailed across the 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.
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