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 LATEST 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 enti...