Gujarat: Three sentenced to death for gang rape, murder

AHMEDABAD: A sessions court in Kapadvanj town of Kheda district on Friday awarded death sentence to three persons after holding them guilty of gang rape and murder of a woman in 2018.
According to the case details provided by prosecutor Minesh Patel, two persons, Jayanti Vadi and Lalabhai Vadi alias Kankudiyo, abducted a woman on October 28, 2018 from Motijher village and took her to Nirmali village.
The third accused in the case, Gopi alias Bhalabhai Devipujak, saw the duo taking the woman on their bike and went after them. By the time Gopi found them, the woman had been raped and was lying unconscious. Gopi also raped her and the trio then strangulated her before dumping her body in a nearby farm. The victim’s brother lodged a criminal complaint.
The accused were arrested and put on trial for abduction, gang rape, murder and destruction of evidence. The prosecution examined 26 witnesses and presented 45 documentary pieces of evidence to establish its case.
Additional sessions judge accepted the prosecution’s case and awarded maximum punishment for killing the woman, life imprisonment for gangrape, five-year jail for abduction and three-years term for destruction of evidence. A fine of Rs 30,000 has been imposed on each of them.
The court has asked the state government to pay Rs 2 lakh compensation to the victim’s family.
With this conviction, trial courts in Gujarat have sent 45 persons to the gallows till date. This includes death penalty for 38 persons in the 2008 serial blasts case.