Special Judge Nisha Gupta had earlier on Tuesday convicted the two men — Irfan alias Bhaiyu (20) and Asif (24) — and held them guilty under relevant sections, public prosecutor BS Thakur told PTI. The pronouncement of the quantum of sentence was scheduled for later in the day.

A special court in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur pronounced death sentence for the two accused in the rape case of an eight-year-old girl, media reports said on Tuesday.

Special Judge Nisha Gupta had earlier on Tuesday convicted the two men — Irfan alias Bhaiyu (20) and Asif (24) — and held them guilty under relevant sections, public prosecutor BS Thakur told PTI. The pronouncement of the quantum of sentence was scheduled for later in the day.

The survivor was gang-raped on 26 June in Mandsaur after the accused abducted her while she was waiting for her father outside her school. The accused had also tried to kill her by slitting her throat.

The minor, who suffered severe injuries to her neck, face, head and private parts in the incident, is undergoing treatment in Indore.

Relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were invoked against the accused. The incident triggered protests in several parts of the state, as many demanded capital punishment for the accused.

On 5 December 2017, the Madhya Pradesh Assembly unanimously passed a bill to grant death penalty to perpetrators who are found guilty of raping girls of the age of 12-year-old or younger.

On 6 August, the Parliament passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018 for stringent punishment for those convicted of raping girls below 12 years of age.

With inputs from agencies