Two men get death penalty in Mandsaur gang-rape case
An 8-year-old girl was raped in Madsaur, a special court awarded death penalty to two men for the crime today, saying they deserved no leniency.
The girl was abducted and later gang-raped on June 26, an incident which had triggered widespread outrage and led to protests for several days with demands for capital punishment for the culprits.
In what could possibly be one of the speediest trials in such crimes, Additional District and Sessions Judge Nisha Gupta today convicted Irfan Mewati alias Bhaiyu (20) and Asif Mewati (24) and sentenced them to death, saying the case fell under the “rarest of the rare” category.
“The act of the two accused was of cruel and gruesome nature. The duo raped a hapless girl who was anxious to return home after her school was over,” the judge was quoted as saying by assistant district prosecution officer Nitesh Krishnan, who spoke to PTI over phone.
The court noted that the convicts savagely attacked the minor girl and the victim could not defend herself as she was a minor.
“The accused not only raped her, but they attacked and injured her private parts and other delicate body parts with a knife,” the special judge observed, the prosecutor said.
“So, they do not deserve leniency. Therefore, treating the incident as rarest of the rare case, as pleaded by the prosecution, death was only way out to punish them under section 376DB of the IPC,” the judge remarked, Krishnan added.
The newly-introduced section deals with cases where femles under 12 years of age is raped by one or more persons.
The girl was abducted while she was waiting for her father outside her school in Mandsaur and was later gang- raped. The rapists had also tried to kill her by slitting her throat.
The girl had suffered severe injuries on her neck, face, head and private parts in the incident and is undergoing treatment in Indore.
Following the gruesome incident, local Muslims in Mandsaur district had taken out a rally, demanding the culprits be hanged.
The district remained on the boil for many days and protests were organised in several parts of western Madhya Pradesh, demanding capital punishment for the culprits.
Press journalist for HRO media – Ignacio Damigo reports.
Category: International
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