Omar Abdullah welcomes courts verdict on Kathua rape case

Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, on Monday welcomed the verdict in the Kathua rape case, demanding 'severe punishment' to the convicts.

"The guilty deserve the most severe punishment possible under law. And to those politicians who defended the accused, vilified the victim & threatened the legal system no words of condemnation are enough. #KathuaRapeCase" Abdullah wrote on Twitter.

A Pathankot court on Monday convicted six out of seven accused who were involved in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua in January 2018. Quantum of punishment is expected to be announced later in the day.

Village head Sanji Ram, his friend Parvesh Kumar, two Special Police Officers Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma, Head Constable Tilak Raj, Sub Inspector Anand Dutta were found guilty, while Vishal, the son of Sanjhi Ram, got acquitted.

The incident took place in January 2018 when an eight-year old girl, belonging to a nomadic Muslim tribe, was abducted, gang-raped and killed after being tortured for days.

The case created public outrage with activists and people hitting the streets demanding justice to the victim.

The Crime Branch arrested eight accused. The trial of seven began in April last year and concluded on June 3. However, the trial of the eighth accused, a juvenile is yet to begin as the petition on his age is pending for a hearing in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.