Police seeks death penalty for Dec 16 gangrape convicts

The quantum of sentence awarded to the guilty will be pronounced on Friday

A fast track court, which has convicted four persons in the December 16 gangrape-cum-murder case, today fixed September 13 for pronouncing the quantum of sentence to be awarded to them.

Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna reserved the order on punishment after hearing arguments of the prosecution, which sought death penalty for the four, and the defence lawyers.

The Delhi Police sought death penalty for the four for brutally gangraping and murdering a defenceless 23-year-old girl in a cold blooded manner.

Advancing arguments on quantum of sentence, Special Public Prosecutor Dayan Krishnan said the death sentence should be awarded to the four convicts--Mukesh (26), Vinay Sharma (20), Pawan Gupta (19) and Akshay Thakur (28)--as the case falls in the category of "rarest of rare" cases.

The defence lawyers, however, sought a lenient punishment for the convicts, saying life imprisonment in such a case is a rule while death penalty is an exception.

During the arguments, the prosecutor told the court that the convicts do not deserve any mercy, as they killed the helpless girl who kept on pleading for mercy.

"The crime is not only grotesque and diabolic in nature but the barbaric behaviour of the convicts was of the highest kind. Maximum sentence has to be given as the court should see that they have raped and killed a helpless girl, even as she pleaded for her life," he said.

He said people at large are watching this case and if the convicts are awarded a lighter punishment, the public will lose faith in the judicial system.

"This is an extreme case of depravity and sexual assault of a young girl, who could not survive after their gruesome attack and gangrape.

"The act to damage the girl's intestines intentionally leaves no scope of sympathy," the prosecutor argued.