District Court Complex Pathankot this morning

In January 2018, the victim girl had been held captive, as per the police, under the influence of sedatives at a Devsthan (prayer hall) after she disappeared on January 10. Her body was found seven days later in the forest of the Kathua village. The J&K Police Crime Branch investigation had revealed the girl's rape and murder was part of a conspiracy to "dislodge" a group of Bakerwal Muslim nomads from the Kathua village.

The case had taken a communal turn when an outfit called 'Hindu Ekta Manch' was set up to support the accused with two BJP ministers of then J&K Government backing it. Even the lawyers in Kathua had attempted to prevent the prosecution from submitting the challan against accused persons before the court of law. The girl had to be buried 8KM away from her village as her body was not allowed to be buried in the local village.

Describing the murder, the police chargesheet states: "After committing the barbaric act of rape on the minor victim, the accused Khajuria kept her neck on his left thigh and started applying force with his hands on her neck in order to kill her; Khajuria was unsuccessful in killing her, the juvenile killed her by pressing his knees against her back while strangulating the girl by applying force on both the ends of her chunni. Thereafter, the accused, in order to make sure that the victim is dead, hit her twice on the head with a stone."

The case was heard on nearly 242 days by the Sessions Court between May 31 last year to June 06, 2019. After the Kathua case, J&K Government had brought in an ordinance to provide for the death penalty for the rape of children below 12.

The trial was transferred from Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua to Pathankot in Punjab on orders of the Supreme Court last year to ensure a fair trial and safety of witnesses. The rape of an 8-year-old girl had sparked an outrage across the country even as many groups in Jammu and Kathua had come out in support of the accused persons.

The final arguments in the case concluded before the court of District and Sessions Judge Dr Tejwinder Singh on June 06. The prosecution and defence evidence concluded on May 27. The in-camera trial took place on a day-to-day basis, in accordance with the Supreme Court order, and began on May 31 last year. The chargesheet against the seven accused persons was submitted before the court on May 30. The accused remained in the Kathua District Jail during the period of trial.