RAIPUR: A special court in Chhattisgarh’s Korba has handed down a death penalty verdict for five men who raped and killed a 16-year-old tribal girl before murdering her two family members including a four-year-old girl. A sixth convict was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Additional sessions judge Mamta Bhojwani, who delivered the verdict on January 15, held that this inhuman and cruel act of the accused was extremely perverted, heinous, brutal and cowardly.
The judge, who presided over a fast track special court in Korba district, sentenced Santram Manjhwar (49), Abdul Jabbar (34), Anil Kumar Sarthi (24), Pardeshi Ram (39) and Anand Ram Panika (29) to death. The sixth convict, Umashanakar Yadav (26), was given life imprisonment, said special public prosecutor Sunil Kumar Mishra.
Mishra said he had sought the death penalty for all six accused but Yadav was sentenced to life imprisonment on medical grounds.
They have been convicted under sections 302 (murder), 376 (2)G (gangarape) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
“.. this inhuman and cruel act of the accused is extremely perverted, heinous, brutal and cowardly because they have killed three innocent and weak people to satisfy their lust. This has shocked the collective conscience of the entire society, “ the court said.
According to the prosecution, Manjhwar, who was already married, had been pressuring the teenager to be his “second wife” but the girl and her family firmly stood up to him.
Manjhwar and his associates gang-raped the girl and bludgeoned her with stones before dumping her body in a forest near Gadhuproda village under Lemru police station area of Korba district. They also killed the girl’s father, aged around 60, and his four-year-old granddaughter who were with her.
The victims belonged to the Pahadi Korwa tribal community, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).
“Punishment in proportion to the act committed by the accused is the demand of justice because justice is not done keeping in mind only the criminal but it is also necessary to pay equal attention to the victim who has been affected by that crime. Therefore, in the present case, this court is of the opinion that it is necessary to award the death sentence to the accused (except accused Umashankar), the judge said.