The three convicts in the Kopardi gang-rape have been sentenced to death (Representational)
In July last year, a 15-year-old girl in Maharashtra's Kopardi was murdered after gang-rape and torture so savage that her hair had been pulled out, her limbs and teeth had been broken and there were bite marks on her body. The three convicts were sentenced to death by a special court today in a case compared by many to the 2012 Delhi gang-rape.
Jitendra Babulal Shinde, 26, Santosh Gorakh Bhawal, 30, and Nitin Gopinath Bhailume, 28, had been convicted last week for the crime that fueled massive protests by the Maratha community, which took out marches across the state. They were held guilty of rape, murder and conspiracy besides other charges, said special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
"Justice has finally been done. My daughter will never return. This is the real tribute to my daughter," the girl's mother said, breaking down as she spoke to reporters.
On July 13, 2016, the teen was returning home on her bicycle after fetching spices from her grandmother's home in the same village, when she was stopped by Jitendra Shinde. He dragged her to a hidden spot, tortured and raped her before calling two of his friends.
The three men then assaulted and murdered the Class 8 student.
When her body was found, investigators were horrified at the brutality of the assault. She had been bitten all over, her limbs had been broken and her shoulders had been dislocated before she was strangled.
The girl belonged to the Maratha community and the case took a political twist with protestors clubbing demands for tough action against the rapist-killers with their larger agitation for quota in jobs and education.
In October, the police in Ahmednagar filed a 350-page charge-sheet in which the accused were also charged under a tough law on sexual crimes against children.
The three were attacked twice while being brought to the court for hearings. Earlier this year, they were attacked with sickles.