Rasana Rape & Murder P&H HC to hear plea of victim’s father for harsher sentence, convicts’ appeals today

JAMMU: Five weeks after the district court Pathankot sentenced six convicts in the heinous act of gang-rape and murder of eight-year-old nomadic girl in Rasana village of Kathua district, the Punjab and Haryana High Court will witness commencement of two important-yet-contradictory petitions---one seeking enhancement of sentence and other against the sentence.
While the higher court earlier this month had scheduled for Thursday the appeals against the conviction of all the six accused in horrific crime that shook the entire nation 18 months ago, things took a dramatic turn today when the court sensing the gravity of the matter, decided to hear on Thursday another plea of the victim’s father seeking death penalty for three of the six convicts and enhancement of sentence of three others.
The Jammu and Kashmir government had on July 5 sought longish adjournment of hearing of appeals citing that it needed time to notify the appointment of special public prosecutor to represent its case in the court situated in Chandigarh, and also to file an appeal against the acquittal of the seventh accused who was acquitted by the trial court, but was refused.
In the 12 days since then, the government has not yet notified the appointment of special public prosecutor.
The Pathankot District and Sessions Court on June 10 had sentenced Sanji Ram, the alleged mastermind and caretaker of the 'devasthanam' (temple) where the heinous crime took place in January 2018, along with Deepak Khajuria, a Special Police Officer, and Parvesh Kumar, a civilian to life imprisonment till last breath for various offences under the Ranbir Penal Code besides a fine of Rs one lakh each.
Three more-- Sub Inspector Anand Dutta, Head Constable Tilak Raj and SPO Surender Verma -- were convicted for destruction of evidence to cover up the crime and handed down five years in jail and Rs 50,000 fine each when the 367-day-long in-camera trial in the court of judge Tejwinder Singh had concluded, whereas one accused Vishal Jangotra was acquitted.
The convicts appealed separately at differently points in time in the higher court and their jail sentences as well as recovery of fine imposed was suspended during the pendency of the appeal.
The appellants submitted in their pleas that they were falsely implicated in this case and there was no concrete evidence against them. A common ground taken by the appellants is that their conviction is based on presumptions.
On July 5, counsel for J&K government Manbir Singh Basra sought adjournment citing that it had to appoint another special public prosecutor for appearing before the High Court in the matter as the earlier special public prosecutor was appointed to represent its case only before the Pathankot trial court.
Basra also submitted that the State was to file an appeal against acquittal of Vishal Jangotra—son of Sanjhi Ram, for which time was required.
However, the court refused the adjournment and fixed July 18 as the date for hearing the appeals, even as the State government was yet to submit its reply on the appeal petitions.
On July 10, the father of the minor victim also moved the High Court seeking enhancement of sentence imposed on six convicts and also challenging the acquittal of one accused.
The petitioner has requested the court to enhance the sentence of Sanji Ram, Deepak Khajuria and Parvesh Kumar from life imprisonment to capital punishment, his counsel Utsav Bains had said.
"It is rarest of the rare case and as per the standards set by the Supreme Court, that case of rape and murder by a gang of a minor child comes under this category more so when the manner of committing crime exhibits complete insensitivity, cruelty, depravity and perversion," the petition stated.
The petitioner also requested the court to enhance the sentence of three other convicts -- Surinder Kumar, Tilak Raj and Anand Dutta -- from five years in jail to life imprisonment.
Sensing the gravity of the matter, the High Court today heard the plea briefly and said the case would be heard on Thursday, when connected matters were scheduled for hearing.
An appeal by Crime Branch against acquittal of Sanji Ram's son Vishal was awaited, but the fate of his minor nephew, the eight accused in the case, will be decided by the juvenile court.
His trial was to begin before a juvenile justice board in Jammu but was postponed for two weeks when the Crime Branch pleaded that its petition to determine his age is awaiting judgment in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
A 15-page charge sheet filed in April last year said the eight-year-old girl was kidnapped on January 10 that year and was raped in captivity in a small village temple, exclusively manned by Sanjhi Ram, after keeping her sedated for four days. She was later bludgeoned to death, it said.