Convict sentenced to death in Preeti Rathi acid attack case
Mumbai, September 8
A special women’s court here today awarded capital punishment to 26-year-old Ankur Lal Panwar in the 2013 acid attack case on nurse Preeti Rathi, who died of multiple organ failure after suffering deep internal injuries.
Special Judge AS Shende pronounced the death penalty for the convict, a day after prosecution sought the exemplary punishment for him saying acid attack is a crime against women and Panwar did not commit the crime on the spur of the moment but it was a pre-planned attack.
Yesterday, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam termed the case fit for death sentence, saying that it falls in the “rarest of the rare” category while Panwar’s lawyer Apeksha Vora had pleaded leniency for her client, citing his young age and stating that he was the sole breadwinner for his family.
“If he is given a lesser punishment and if he is released after completing the sentence, other girls would not be safe,” Nikam had submitted.
Panwar is accused of murdering Delhi native Preeti Rathi in 2013 by throwing acid at her after he allegedly grew jealous of the nurse who had come to Mumbai to pursue a career at a defence hospital here. — PTI
