Kathua Rape Case: Three of the accused in rape and murder of the eight year old get life imprisonment

After over an year, Three of the eight accused in the Kathua rape case are sentenced to life imprisonment.

The court earlier today convicted the main accused, Sanji Ram, for the murder and rape of 8-year old girl last year in Kathua district in Jammu and Kashmir.

The rest six accused in the Kathua rape case are convicted under three sections including Ranbir Penal Codes' Sections 201 (pertaining to the disappearance of evidence) and 120-B (pertaining to criminal conspiracy).

Those convicted include former revenue official Sanji Ram, Special Police Officers Deepak Khajuria and Surinder Kumar, two investigating officers -- head constable Tilak Raj and sub-inspector Anand Dutta and Parvesh Kumar.

One of the accused, Vishal, was acquitted due to lack of evidence, while the juvenile accused is going to face a separate trial following a petition.

Ram's son Vishal is acquitted due to lack of evidence, while an accused juvenile faces a separate trial. His trial is yet to begin as a petition to determine his age is waiting judgement in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

The 8-year-old girl was kidnapped and held captive at a village temple in Kathua district on January 10 last year, said the charge sheet.

The 15-page charge sheet against the accused had said that the eight-year-old girl, who was kidnapped on January 10 last year, was raped in captivity in a small village temple in Kathua district after having been sedated for four days before she was bludgeoned to death.

She was drugged, starved and repeatedly raped for days. She was finally strangled and her head was bashed in with a rock. Her mutilated body was found in a forest area on January 17. Three days later, one of the accused -- reportedly a juvenile -- was arrested by police, the charge sheet said.

(With IANS)