Sonai killings: Death for all 6 guilty of killing 3 Dalit youth (Maharashtra)

WRITTEN BY

Pranali Lotlikar Chinpranali 

Updated: Jan 21, 2018, 05:20 AM IST

The Nashik Sessions court on Saturday awarded capital punishment to all the six accused found guilty in the Sonai killings case. The court held that the act committed by the accused was rarest of rare and deserved nothing but a death sentence.

The court, presided over by Judge Vaishav, further said that there was a need to put an end to such mentality, which is spreading through society like a life-threatening disease, and hopefully, this judgement will curb its growth. Last week, the court found the six accused — brothers Ramesh (43), Prakash (38), and Ragunath alias 'Popat' (52); Ganesh alias Praveen Darandale (23), Sandeep Kurhe (37) and Ashok Phalke (44) — guilty of one of the most brutal hate crimes in recent years. 

The gory murders of three Dalit youths in Ahmednagar's Sonai village took place more than five years ago. Sachin Gharu (24), Sandeep Thanvar (25) and Rahul Kandare (20) were brutally murdered and their mutilated body parts scattered in a septic tank and a dried-up well. The motive was anger that Sachin, a Dalit youth, was pursuing a relationship with an upper caste Maratha woman, related to the Darandales. Sandeep and Rahul had witnessed the covering up of the crime. Pankaj Thanvar, Sandeep's brother, says he is happy that justice has been delivered and that the judiciary was not shaken by the economic or the caste background of the accused. Pankaj is a soldier in the Indian Army.

It was a proud moment for the prosecution as it based its argument on circumstantial evidence of Call Data Records (CDR) and 'last seen together' theory. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said, "The anger over a schedule caste man loving an upper caste woman was so much that the accused, even after Gharu's death, cut his body into eight pieces and threw the pieces into a borewell. To eliminate evidence, they killed the two youths who saw the gruesome killing and threw their bodies into the sewage tank too. The case was a rarest-of-rare example of hate and caste crime, as the court observed." 

Sudharak Olve, photo-journalist and Padmashree award winner, who is documenting caste atrocities across Maharashtra, said, "The primary responsibility of being sensitive to caste atrocities lies with the police machinery. When that fails to secure the rights of Dalits or any other reserved caste person, the feudal caste hierarchy takes things for granted and such cases occur." Activist Vaibhav Chaya says, "The police buckles under pressure from authorities and politicians, who belong to the upper caste. Atrocities can only stop if police conduct a fair investigation."

Source: https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-sonai-killings-death-for-all-6-guilty-of-killing-3-dalit-youth-2577080 (Accessed 24 December 2018)

Ankur Panwar sentenced to death in Preeti Rathi acid attack and murder case (Maharashtra)

Rebecca Samervel 

TNN | Sep 8, 2016, 03.16 PM IST

MUMBAI: A special women's court on Thursday sentenced a 25-year-old man to death for murdering a Delhi resident by hurling acid at Bandra Terminus in 2013. The sentencing comes a day after the accused Ankur Panwar was convicted by Judge AS Shende. Both the prosecution and defence presented the arguments on quantum of sentence. While special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam sought the death sentence on the ground that the case fell in the rarest of rare category, defence advocate Apeksha Vora prayed for the minimum sentence of life, citing Panwar's age, family background and lack of previous antecedents. 

Ankur Panwar

The victim, Preeti Rathi (23) had arrived in the city to join the Indian Navy as a nurse. The motive the court accepted was the fact that Panwar was upset after Preeti had spurned his marriage proposal. The court relied on witness accounts present on the spot, witnesses who saw the accused buying two kilograms of sulphuric acid and the injuries sustained by him while hurling the acid, to hold him guilty. The court also refuted the defence contention that Preeti’s death, almost a month after the incident was caused due to medical negligence. On May 2, 2013 Preeti got off Garib Rath Express at Bandra terminus in Mumbai with her father, aunt and uncle. Moments later a masked man threw acid at her, inflicting severe burn injuries. From Narela, northwest of Delhi, it was Preeti's maiden visit to Mumbai, where she was to join the Indian Navy as a nurse. 

On May 10, the police arrested a BTech student hailing from Rohtak, but later let him off for lack of evidence. Rathi died on June 1, 2013. On January 17, 2014, the crime branch arrested Panwar had been found guilty under charges of Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder) and 326 B ( causing grievous hurt by use of acid). On Tuesday, Preeti’s father Amar Singh Rathi and brother Hitesh was present in court for the verdict. One of the key witnesses among the 37 examined by the prosecution, Amar Singh had said he wanted the harshest punishment for Panwar. “I want him to receive the death penalty. I saw my child dying before my eyes. My daughter suffered until the end and I want him to suffer in the same manner too. She had done no wrong. A message has to be sent to the society,” he said. 

Preeti Rathi

The septuagenarian Haryana native who is now suffering from cancer spoke fondly of his older daughter. “She was a hardworking accomplished child. Her achievements were her own and she took the initiative to educate herself. This has been a great loss to our family,” he added. He also revealed that Preeti had never complained to him about Panwar’s behaviour. Hitesh said that his sister was an inspiration to everyone in her family and even he was prodded by her father to be more like her.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Ankur-Panwar-sentenced-to-death-in-Preeti-Rathi-acid-attack-and-murder-case/articleshow/54170480.cms? (Accessed 20 December 2018)

Juveniles Sentenced in Mumbai Gang Rapes

VOA News July 15, 2014 8:37 AM

The abandoned textile mill where two women were gang raped in separate incidents in Mumbai, India, August 23, 2013. An Indian court has convicted two juveniles for separate gang rapes in an abandoned mill in the western city of Mumbai. Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told reporters Tuesday that a judge found the teenagers guilty and sentenced them to three years in a reform institution. One juvenile was convicted in the gang rape of a photojournalist passing through the mill in August of 2013. The other was found guilty in the gang rape of a telephone operator at the same location a month earlier. The telephone operator reportedly came forward to police after hearing media reports of the photojournalist's rape. A Mumbai court in April sentenced three other convicts to death for their involvement in both gang rapes, the first such sentence since India approved a law giving stricter punishments for those convicted of sexual assault.

Two others were sentenced to life in prison in connection with the Mumbai gang rapes. The government approved harsher punishments for rape in response to outrage over the December 2012 brutal gang rape and killing of a young woman in the Indian capital. The attack sparked nationwide protests, with demonstrators demanding better protection for women and justice for victims of such crimes. ​On Monday, the Indian Supreme Court stayed the execution of two men involved in the 2012 gang rape of the young woman aboard a private bus in New Delhi. Their lawyer, A.P. Singh, told reporters that the court suspended his clients' death sentences while the two men appeal their case. Source: http://www.voanews.com/content/juveniles-sentenced-in-mumbai-gang-rapes/1957740.html