Kathua Rape Case

The Kathua rape case involved the abduction, gang rape, and murder of an 8-year-old Muslim girl, Asifa Bano, by six men and a juvenile, in January 2018 in the Rasana village near Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, India. A chargesheet for the case was filed, the accused were arrested and the trial began in Kathua on 16 April 2018.

The victim belonged to the nomadic Bakarwal community. She disappeared for a week before her body was discovered by the villagers a kilometer away from the village.The incident made national news when charges were filed against eight men in April 2018. The arrests of the accused led to protests by the Panthers Party and other local groups, who sought justice for the victim.

A protest in support of the accused men was attended by two ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party, both of whom later resigned. The gang rape and murder, as well as the support the accused received, sparked widespread outrage in India and world-wide.

On 10 June 2019, six of the seven defendants were convicted and one acquitted.Three of those convicted were sentenced to life imprisonment and the remaining three to five years.In October 2019, court ordered a First Information Report (FIR) against 6 members of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which probed the case, for allegedly torturing and coercing witnesses to give false statements.

The accused,

Sanji Ram was found to be the main accused in the case. He is the priest of the family temple, where the incident took place. The Hindu community of the village prays three times a day in that temple according to local people.

His son Vishal and his nephew, a juvenile, were also accused in the case. The others who have been accused are Deepak Khajuria and Parvesh Kumar, who are police officers, Tilak Raj, a head constable and Arvind Dutta, a sub inspector.

The police contested the claim that the nephew is a juvenile.Vishal Jangotra claimed to be in Meerut attending an exam. However, according to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), his signature does not match the signature on the exam attendance sheet.

Trial,

The trial for the Kathua murder and rape case began in Jammu and Kashmir on 16 April 2018 before the Principal Sessions Court judge, Kathua.The second hearing was scheduled for 28 April 2018.The Supreme Court sought a response from the Jammu and Kashmir government regarding shifting the trial to Chandigarh by 27 April 2018.

A demand by Bhim Singh, leader of the Panthers Party, for an independent inquiry by the CBI was heard and denied by the Supreme Court of India.

On 7 May 2018, the Supreme Court of India shifted the case from Jammu and Kashmir to Pathankot. The Supreme Court instructed the trial to be fast-tracked. The trial was closed to the public and press according to orders from the Supreme Court. The trial also was being held in-camera as per instructions from the Supreme Court

The trial was being held under the Ranbir Penal Code, according to laws in Jammu and Kashmir.

On 14 November 2018, the family of the rape victim decided to drop their lawyer Deepika Rajawat.The application to remove the power of attorney was filed before the trial court in Pathankot, where the girl's father said Rajawat won't be representing them in the case anymore stating her security concerns and general lack of interest in the case. Over 100 hearings have taken place so far, but Deepika Rajawat was only present twice.

Sentencing,

On 10 June 2019, six of the seven defendants were found guilty, and one was acquitted.Sanji Ram, Deepak Khajuria and Pravesh Kumar were sentenced to life imprisonment for 25 years, along with a fine of ₹1,00,000 = $1255.8.

The other three accused - Tilak Raj, Anand Dutta and Surender Verma were sentenced to five years in jail for destroying crucial evidence in the case. The court acquitted Sanji Ram's son, Vishal due to lack of evidence. The eighth accused, Sanji Ram's juvenile nephew, was tried at a juvenile court.