Kathua rape-murder case: Pathankot court to deliver verdict today

The verdict in the alleged rape-and-murder case of an eight-year-old nomadic girl at Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to be delivered by a special court in Pathankot today.

The case led to outrage across the country in January last year.

The in-camera trial in the case had ended on June 3, when District and Sessions Judge Tejwinder Singh had announced that the verdict would be delivered on June 10.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made in and around the court and in Kathua in view of the pronouncement of the judgment, officials said.

According to the charge-sheet, the eight-year-old girl was kidnapped and taken to a village temple in Kathua district on January 10, 2018. For four days the girl was allegedly raped in captivity while being kept under sedation. She was then bludgeoned to death.

The Crime Branch arrested eight people including Sanji Ram, his son Vishal, juvenile nephew and his friend, two special police officers identified as Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma. Head constable Tilak Raj and sub-inspector Anand Dutta.