Sentencing in the Kamduni gangrape and murder case was deferred till tomorrow as the convicts' counsel today argued against possible death sentence to some of those found guilty claiming that earlier cases of more gruesome incidents invited lesser sentences.
Additional District and Sessions judge Sanchita Sarkar, who yesterday convicted six persons in the gangrape and murder of the girl, said she intended to pronounce sentence the convicts tomorrow following conclusion of arguments.
Firoz Edulji, counsel for convicts Saiful Ali and Ansar Ali, submitted before the court that there had been previous cases of rape and murder in which the convicts were given punishment other than death sentence.
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He referred to some judgements of different courts of the country before the hearing was adjourned for the day.
Saiful Ali, Ansar Ali and Aminul Ali were found guilty under sections 376(d) (gangrape), 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC.
The judge found the other three - Imanul Islam, Aminul Islam and Bhola Naskar guilty under sections 376(d) (gangrape), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of IPC.
Saiful Ali, Ansar Ali and Aminul Ali face a maximum punishment of death penalty under the sections they have been convicted, while the minimum possible punishment is life sentence.
The other three found guilty face a minimum of 20 years in prison or a maximum of life sentence, the judge had said.
Rafiqul Islam and Nur Ali were acquitted owing to lack of evidence against them.
Another accused Gopal Naskar died during trial in August last year.
The gangrape and brutal murder of the 21-year-old college girl occurred when she was returning home at Kamduni, about 50 km from Kolkata, in North 24-Parganas district after appearing for an examination at her college on June 7, 2013.
The second year BA student was pulled into a farm when she was walking back home along a deserted road after alighting from a bus. She was subsequently gangraped and murdered.
Her mutilated body was found the next morning in a corner of the farm.
The incident had sparked an outrage in the state amidst concerns over women's safety.
The police had on December 26 arrested a tour guide, a
driver, a cleaner and a hotel staff in connection with the alleged gangrape of the woman in April this year.
The US national arrived here a few days ago to join the probe and recorded her statement in front of a judicial magistrate where she reiterated that she was gangraped by five persons in a five-star city hotel.
Four accused were arrested after the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) issued a notice to the police asking them why the Rape Crisis Cell of the panel was not informed when the victim's statement was recorded.
Earlier, the complainant had said she was "not satisfied" with the probe and was ready to come to India to identify the accused.
The woman had alleged that she was raped by the men for two days and also threatened with dire consequences if she reported the matter to anybody.
She had also stated that the accused had made a video of the act and threatened to make it public if she reported the matter to anyone. She had also told the police that the accused had claimed to have sexually assaulted a couple of other female tourists as well.
A team of psychologists and psychiatrists have been assisting the lady in recalling the details of the incident. The team is also working with the police in their investigation to tie up loose ends.
