Ahmednagar rape case: Fadnavis meets victim's family, assures strict action

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Minister Ram Shinde on Sunday met family members of the gang-rape victim at Kopardi in Ahmednagar district. Fadnavis expressed his deepest condolences and assured strong action against the culprit and strictest punishment through fast track court. [caption id=“attachment_2912856” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Reuters[/caption] A large number of people were present at this time in Kopardi, a CMO official said. The CM interacted with them and assured in his short speech that government will leave no stone unturned to ensure justice. The 15-year-old girl was brutally raped and killed by three men at Kopardi in Ahmednagar on 13 July, when she was returning after meeting her grandfather. She was allegedly accosted by three men, who gangraped her before strangling her. The victim, a student of Class IX, had reportedly been  mutilated, and local accounts suggest she was found with her hair pulled out, and hands and teeth broken. She was found with both shoulders dislocated, police said. The crime sparked protests across the state, with people taking to the streets demanding action against the accused, while the Congress demanded the resignation of the chief minister on moral grounds. Police said all three of the accused were arrested by the local crime branch after the incident. Fadnavis had informed the State Legislative Assembly last week that the accused have been booked under IPC sections 376 (rape), 302 (murder) and Protection of Children from Sexual  Offences (POCSO) Act. He had also said that noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam has been appointed as the public prosecutor in the case and the government has given Rs 5 lakh solatium to the victim’s family.