Death for three convicted of raping, murdering Pune techie

A fast track court on Tuesday pronounced the death sentence for three prime accused in the sensational October 2009 gangrape and murder of software engineer Nayana Phatak-Pujari.

Special Judge L. L. Yenkar, who on Monday convicted Yogesh Ashok Raut, Mahesh Balasaheb Thakur and Vishwas Hindurao Kadam for kidnapping robbing, gangraping and then killing the victim, sentenced them to death after a hectic day full of arguments between the prosecution and defence lawyers.

Special Public Prosecutor Harshad Nimbalkar forcefully argued for the death penalty against the convicts, terming it as "the rarest of rare cases" and the brutality of the crime against the victim.

He said that the prosecution managed to establish the complete chain of circumstances that led to the serious crime and said they deserved "the maximum punishment" under the laws.

"Considering the brutal manner in which the victim was gangraped and then killed, this falls under the category of rarest of rare case," he said after the conviction.

Another co-accused, Rajesh Pandurang Choudhari, who was arrested as an accomplice by the police, later turned an approver and was granted a pardon.

The victim's husband Abhijit Pujari, and sisters Manisha G. and Madhuri J. had demanded the death penalty for the accused, and expressed their satisfaction over the verdict.

--IANS

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