Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, political parties hail speedy trial in Kopardi gangrape verdict

Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and other political leaders on Wednesday hailed the court verdict in the case of gangrape and killing of a 15-year-old girl in Ahmednagar in which the three accused were awarded death sentence. A sessions court on Wednesday awarded death sentence to Jitendra Babulal Shinde (25), Santosh Gorakh Bhawal (30) and Nitin Gopinath Bhailume (23) for brutally raping and killing a 15-year-old girl in Kopardi village in 2016. [caption id=“attachment_2929770” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. Reuters[/caption] The incident had triggered protests across the state. “Kopardi was an extremely unfortunate incident which resulted in massive reactions across the state,” Fadnavis told reporters. The chief minister said the investigating agencies conducted a swift inquiry and arrested the accused immediately. Lauding special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam and the police officials involved in the case, he said exceptionally good work was done and the trial was completed in a record time. He claimed the lawyers of the accused tried everything possible to prolong the case, but it proved futile. Claiming that the court even fined the lawyers of the accused twice for delaying the trial, he said the perpetrators of the heinous crime were finally awarded capital punishment. After the judgement, the victim’s soul will find peace, the chief minister said, adding that people’s faith in the judicial system would increase. Senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan also welcomed the decision of the fast track court. He claimed that the case could be fast-tracked as the previous Congress-NCP government had made suitable changes in law. “It is the government’s responsibility to ensure that higher courts uphold the death punishment of the accused,” he said, adding that the government should fast-track other cases of atrocities against women. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde said complete justice would be meted out only when higher courts uphold the judgement and the accused would be hanged. He said this judgement would serve as a lesson to criminals and instil faith in law and order and judiciary. Hailing the court’s judgement, Shiv Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said cases involving crime against women should be handled in a sensitive manner by the police so that victims and their families do not undergo mental harassment. She demanded that ‘gram rakshak dal’ be formed in all rural areas to help mitigate instances of such brutalities.