After Supreme Court declares Kathua 'rapist' an adult, J&K Police file chargesheet

Jammu/New Delhi, January 8

Shubam Sangra, declared an adult by the Supreme Court, has been formally chargesheeted by the J&K Police’s crime branch in a case related to the gangrape and murder case of an eight-year-old in Kathua in 2018.

Though the trial is expected to start in neighbouring Punjab’s Pathankot, as ordered by the Supreme Court in 2018, the crime branch submitted its chargesheet under various sections, including those related to murder, rape, kidnapping and wrongful confinement, before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Kathua.

The chargesheet was submitted in the Sessions Court in Kathua which has fixed January 24 as the next date of hearing in the case.

According to the Supreme Court order of 2018, the Sessions Court of Pathankot will be hearing the case and the appellate court would be the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Sangra was also shifted from a juvenile home to the regular Kathua Jail after the crime branch served the Supreme Court order of November 22 in which he was declared an adult.

The chargesheet detailed Sangra’s alleged involvement in the horrific crime. It said Sangra was responsible for an overdose of sedatives forcibly administered to the eight-year-old, rendering her “incapacitated” to resist sexual assault on her as well as her murder.

“She was forcefully administered five tablets of clonazepam of 0.5 mg each on January 11, 2018, which is higher than the safe therapeutic dose. Subsequently, more tablets were given…The signs and symptoms of an overdose may include drowsiness, confusion, impaired coordination, slow reflexes, slowed or stopped breathing, coma (loss of consciousness) and death,” a medical expert was quoted as saying in the chargesheet.

Sangra, who had been filing petitions at various courts, finally got caught when a shoddily drafted application for a birth certificate led to the unravelling of the conspiracy to proclaim him as a juvenile.

According to the chargesheet, Sangra was involved in the abduction, gang rape and killing of the child. Eight people, including Sangra, were accused in the case that shook the nation with its details of brutality.

The special court on June 10, 2019, sentenced three men to life imprisonment “till last breath”. These were Sanji Ram, the mastermind and caretaker of the ‘devasthanam’ (temple) where the crime took place, Special Police Officer Deepak Khajuria and a civilian called Parvesh Kumar.

Three other accused – Sub-Inspector Anand Dutta, Head Constable Tilak Raj and Special Police Officer Surender Verma — were convicted of destruction of evidence to cover up the crime and given five years in jail and Rs 50,000 fine each. They are out on parole.

The seventh accused, Vishal Jangotra, son of Sanji Ram, was acquitted. — PTI

‘Involvement in gang rape and murder’

• Shubam Sangra was involved in the abduction, gang rape and killing of the 8-year-old in Kathua, says chargesheet
• He was responsible for an overdose of sedatives forcibly given to the victim, rendering her ‘incapacitated’ to resist the assault