4 convicted, 6 acquitted in Nuh gangrape, murder case

Ravneet Singh

Panchkula, April 10

The court of the CBI Special Judge, Panchkula, Rajeev Goyal, today convicted four persons and acquitted six in a 2016 gangrape and double-murder case in Nuh district. The matter had grabbed national headlines.

The court held Vinay, Jai Bhagwan, Hemant Chauhan and Ayaan Chauhan guilty, but acquitted Tejpal Yadav, Amit Yadav, Ravinder Yadav, Karamjit, Rahul Verma and Sandeep.

On the night of August 24, 2016, armed men had barged into a house on a farmland at an isolated place in Nuh, where a family was sleeping outside. Two of them were beaten up and murdered, while a 19-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl sleeping inside were gangraped.

The police initially registered a case the next day and claimed success in solving it with the arrest of four local youths. However, it led to resentment among villagers, who claimed that the youths were not involved.

The matter was then handed over to the CBI, which completed its investigation and submitted a report.

The accused were charged with various sections under the IPC, including murder, gangrape and dacoity. The accused rejected the charges and sought trial.

Defence lawyers, who represented Tejpal Yadav, Amit Yadav and Ravinder Yadav, said, “There was a lack of substantial evidence against the accused. There was a contradiction in the statements of witnesses before the police and the CBI, as well as before the court. The court thus acquitted six individuals.”

Only four accused were convicted against whom there was evidence in the form of DNA matching and fingerprints. The quantum of the sentence will be pronounced on April 15.

Seven-year wait

• August 24/25, 2016: Two killed, two women, including a minor, gangraped
• November 21, 2016: Police filed first chargesheet
• January 24, 2018: CBI files first chargesheet
• November 29, 2019: CBI files second chargesheet
• March 15, 2021: CBI court frames charges against accused
• April 10, 2024: CBI court convicts four accused