Chhattisgarh's Korba court sentenced five men to death for the gangrape and murder of a 16-year-old girl and the brutal killings of two of her family members in 2021. The court, while delivering justice, termed the crime as "extremely depraved, disgusting, bestial, and cowardly" that shook the collective conscience of society.
The convicts, identified as—Santram Manjhwar, Abdul Jabbar, Anil Kumar Sarthi, Pardeshi Ram, and Anand Ram Panika—were found guilty under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 302 (murder) and 376(2)(G) (gang rape), along with provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act by the Fast Track Special Court in Korba district.
However, a sixth accused, named Umashanakar Yadav, was sentenced to life imprisonment due to medical reasons. It was determined that he had undergone surgery that affected his ability to participate in the crime. Nevertheless, the death sentences will still require confirmation from the Chhattisgarh High Court before being carried out.
The heart-wrenching incident took place on January 9, 2021, when the 16-year-old girl was gang raped in front of her father before being murdered. The horrific crime left the court with no option but to choose the death penalty rather than the general rule of life imprisonment, the judge said.
The ruling noted that accused Santram and Abdul Jabbar raped the deceased girl while the remaining accused played an active role in this act by supporting them. "This inhuman and cruel act of the accused is extremely depraved, disgusting, bestial and cowardly as they killed three innocent and weak persons to satisfy their lust. This act has hurt the collective conscience of the entire society," the court said.
Father, 3-year-old sister was killed
The accused had also killed a three-and-a-half-year-old girl and the father aged around 55-60 years. The horrific incident took place when the victims—residents of the Pahadi Korwa tribal community—were travelling home after being offered a lift by Manjhwar, the employer of the 16-year-old girl's father since July 2020.
As per the prosecution, they stopped at Korai village, and Manjhwar consumed liquor, following which the other men also joined him. The men took the trio to the foothill surrounded by forest near Gadhuproda. The accused gang-raped the 16-year-old in front of her father.
After the gruesome act, the accused bludgeoned the girl with stones and left her in the forest leading to her death near Gadhuproda village under Lemru police station area of Korba district. After killing all the victims with stones and sticks, the accused dumped them in the forest before fleeing from the scene, police said.
Four days later, the deceased man's son approached the Lemru police station saying three family members were missing. The cops swung into action and rounded up the six men on February 2, they said. After questioning, police reached the crime site the same day and found the raped victim alive and two others dead. The rape victim died while being rushed to a local hospital, police said.
(With PTI Input)
