KL Srinagar
SRINAGAR
A local court in North Kashmir’s Kupwara Thursday reserved its judgement on the quantum of punishment to four convicts in Tabinda Gani rape and murder case for tomorrow, April 24.
Eight years after 13-year-old Tabinda Gani was raped and murdered, Kupwara court on April 18, 2015 had convicted all the four accused for the horrific crime and guilty of the offences of murder (302 RPC), gang rape (376(G)), kidnapping with intention to kill (364 RPC) and crime done with common intention (34 RPC).
Ghulam Mohammad Shah, Public Prosecutor, sought death penalty for the all four convicts terming it as the “rarest of the rare cases”.
Reports said, however, amicus curie Abdul Rashid Mirchal argued that the case is based on circumstantial evidence and that a lenient view should be taken.
The four accused in the Tabinda Gani rape case Azher Ahmad Mir, Muhammad Sadiq Mir alias Saada Choor, both residents of Langate and two non-locals Jehangir alias Jehangir Behari of West Bengal and Suresh Kumar alias Suresh Moochi of Rajasthan were brought to the court amid tight security.
Sessions judge Kupwara, Muhammad Ibrahim Wani After hearing the arguments reserved the decision on quantum of punishment for tomorrow.
Class 8th student of Uqab English Medium School Langate, Tabinda Gani was found dead in an orchard in Langate area on July 20, 2007. Medical reports had confirmed that the abductors before slitting her throat had raped her.
Following protests against the heinous crime, police then constituted Special Investigation Team under the supervision of then SP Handwara to solve the case.
