Kathua rape-murder case verdict: The brutal gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua had shook the nation. (Photo:Reuters)

The verdict in the case of rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir has been delivered by a special court on Monday.

Over 1,000 policemen and security personnel have been deployed in and around the Pathankot court, where the trial was shifted given the highly sensitive nature of the case.

The in-camera trial in the case that shook the nation ended on June 3, when district and sessions judge Tejwinder Singh had announced that the verdict was likely to be delivered on June 10.

Here are the LIVE updates:

18:57: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also welcomed the court's decision. He tweeted that the culprits deserve exemplary punishment and no mercy should be shown to them.

Welcome court verdict in Kathua gangrape and murder of a minor girl.

Those monsters who commit heinous crimes like Kathua and Aligarh deserve exemplary punishment and there should be no mercy for such criminals against humanity. Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 10, 2019

18:26: The chargesheet said abduction, rape and killing of the child was part of a carefully planned strategy to remove the minority nomadic community from the area.

18:19: The prosecution team, comprising lawyers J K Chopra, S S Basra, Harminder Singh and Bhupinder Singh, said it demanded capital punishment for the main accused and may go in for appeal against the sole acquittal.

17:38: National Commission for Women Chairperson, Rekha Sharma said she was expecting capital punishment for the criminals. She added that Jammu and Kashmir government must go for appeal in higher court.

National Commission for Women Chairperson, Rekha Sharma: Was expecting capital punishment for Kathua rape and murder criminals. Jammu and Kashmir government must go for appeal in higher court. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/xXIBgL4gvd ANI (@ANI) June 10, 2019

17:13: Sanji Ram, the caretaker of the temple where the crime took place, Special Police Officer Deepak Khajuria and Parvesh Kumar, a civilian, have been convicted under Ranbir Penal Code sections pertaining to criminal conspiracy, murder, kidnapping, gangrape, destruction of evidence, drugging the victim and common intention. They have been sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 1 lakh each for murder.

17:08: The victim's lawyer Farooqi Khan said he was extremely dissapointed as they had expected capital punishment for those involved. He further said that their only option now is to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court and file a fresh petition.

16:56: Five year jail term has been announced for the three cops - SI Anand Dutta, head constable Tilak Raj and special police officer Surender Verma, accused of destroying evidence.

16:53: 25 years of life imprisonment has been announced for three accused - Parvesh, Deepak Khajuria and Sanji Ram.

16:45 pm: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi also tweeted that over 1 lakh daughters still await justice in our courts. It is time to stop child rape through strong legal deterrent and social action.

I welcome the #KathuaCase verdict but over 1 lakh daughters still await justice in our courts. It is time to stop child rape through strong legal deterrent and social action. https://t.co/EeNzpwlCz2 Kailash Satyarthi (@k_satyarthi) June 10, 2019

16:23 pm: National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Rekha Sharma has said, "I welcome the decision of the court and request them to give harshest punishment and hang them to set example for others because cases against minors are increasing and it would set an example."

16:17 pm: On April 22, 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind signed the ordinance of death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years.

16:05 pm: The sentence will announced at any moment now.

14:40 pm: The quantum of sentence will be announced by the court at 4 pm. As of now, the defence lawyers are arguing to settle on the quantum of punishment.

12: 40 pm: Court gives defense lawyers an opportunity to present arguments on the quantum of punishment.

Defense lawyers say they will seek leniency as the prosecution has sought death penalty for the guilty.

12:33 pm: Six out of seven convicted

Convicted

Sanji Ram (mastermind) Sections 120B, 302, 376

Deepak Khajuria- Sections 120 B, 302, 34, 376D, 363, 201, 343

Surinder Verma- Sections 201

Pravesh Doshi- Sections 120B, 302, 376

Tilak Raj- Section 201

Anand Dutta Verma- Section 201

Acquitted: Vishal, Sanjhi Ram’s son

12:19 pm: Amen says former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah after court convicts six of 8-year-old's rape, murder.

Amen to that. The guilty deserve the most severe punishment possible under law. And to those politicians who defended the accused, vilified the victim & threatened the legal system no words of condemnation are enough. #KathuaRapeCase https://t.co/gL2FfRL3rJ Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) June 10, 2019

12:05 pm: Mehbooba Mufti welcomes the verdict.

Welcome the judgement. High time we stop playing politics over a heinous crime where an 8 year old child was drugged, raped repeatedly & then bludgeoned to death. Hope loopholes in our judicial system are not exploited & culprits get exemplary punishment https://t.co/jBuRUdGa5h Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) June 10, 2019

12:00 pm: The quantum of sentence in the case against the six convicted people will be announced at 2 pm.

11:56 am: 6 out 7 accused including mastermind Sanji Ram, special police officer Deepak Khajuria, Surender Verma, Tilak Raj, and Anand Dutta. Only Sanji Ram's son has been speared.

11:45 am: Sources inside the courtroom indicate that five accused have been convicted for raping and killing the minor girl. The judge is currently reading out the rest of the verdict. The seven accused are Sanji Ram, his son Vishal, two special police officers Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma, head constable Tilak Raj and sub-inspector Anand Dutta.

11:41 am: The judge has started reading the verdict in the case. The verdict to decided the fate of the 7 accused will be out shortly.

11:33 am: Mother of the Kathua girl told India Today TV that she wants the perpetrators hanged. "We want justice. We want them to hang. It has been so long they haven’t been punished even now," he said.

11.18 am: Advocate Ankur Sharma, who appeared for one of the accused, says he expects an acquittal.

11.06 am: Seven accused inside the courtroom.

10.38 am: All seven accused reach Pathankot court. Proceedings to begin shortly.

Punjab: Accused brought to Pathankot court ahead of verdict in Kathua rape & murder case pic.twitter.com/BzYcWYAPF2 ANI (@ANI) June 10, 2019

10.24 am: Elaborate security arrangements have been made in and around the court and in Kathua in view of the pronouncement of the judgement. The situation will be monitored closely, officials have said.

10.15 am: In-camera trial ended on June 3 and district and sessions judge Tejwinder Singh said the verdict will be delivered on June 10.

THE CASE

The eight-year-old nomadic girl, who was kidnapped on January 10 last year, was allegedly raped in captivity in a small village temple in Kathua district after having been kept sedated for four days before she was bludgeoned to death.

The day-to-day trial commenced in the first week of June last year at the district and sessions court in Pathankot in Punjab after the Supreme Court ordered that the case be shifted out of Jammu and Kashmir.

The apex court order came after lawyers in Kathua prevented Crime Branch officials from filing a charge sheet in the sensational case, which shocked the nation.

The Crime Branch arrested village head Sanji Ram, his son Vishal, juvenile nephew and his friend Anand Dutta, and two special police officers Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma. Head constable Tilak Raj and sub-inspector Anand Dutta, who allegedly took Rs 4 lakh from Sanji Ram and destroyed crucial evidence, were also arrested.

Charges of rape and murder were framed by the district and sessions judge against seven out of the eight accused. The trial against the juvenile is yet to begin as his petition on determining his age is to be heard by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

The court framed charges under the Ranbir Penal Code(RPC), including Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder) and 376-D (gang-rape), according to the prosecution. The accused, if convicted, face minimum life imprisonment and maximum death penalty.

The case had become a bone of contention between the then ruling alliance partners PDP and the BJP after two ministers of the saffron party, Chowdhury Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga, participated in a rally organised by the Hindu Ekta Manch in support of the accused arrested by the state crime branch.

READ | Sedatives overdose left Kathua victim incapacitated to resist rape, murder: J-K Crime Branch

MAGAZINE | The politics of horror

WATCH | Frightened parents of the victim don't want to return home