Decks cleared for commencement of trial of gangrape-murder accused in Punjab

Decks have been cleared for commencement of trial of Shubam Sangra accused in the Kathua gangrape and murder case of 2018 at a court in Punjab after he was declared an adult by Supreme Court last NovemberSangra was among eight accused arrested in connection with the sensational gangrape and murder of an eightyearold nomadic girl in Kathua district of Jammu and KashmirOn April 24 the Supreme Court disposed of a miscellaneous application arising out of its impugned final judgement of November 16 2022 and directed that the further trial of Sangra pending before the court of sessions judge Kathua will commence in the court of Principal District and Sessions Judge in Pathankot in PunjabThe court in Kathua is scheduled to hear the case for the final disposal on May 23 in light of the Supreme Court decisionThough the trial was expected to begin in Pathakot as per a Supreme Court order of 2018 the crime branch submitted its charge sheet against Sangra under various sections including murder rape kidnapping and wrongful confinement before the chief judicial magistrate in Kathua Jammu and KashmirThe Kathua court has fixed May 23 as the next date of hearing in the case The crime branch will inform the court about the Supreme Court orderSangra was also shifted from a juvenile home to Kathua Jail after the crime branch served the Supreme court order of November 2022 in which he was declared as an adultThe Crime Branch charge sheet detailed Sangras alleged involvement in the horrific crime It said Sangra was responsible for an overdose of sedatives forcibly administered to the girl rendering her incapacitated to resist sexual assault as well as her murderAlso readDestabilised Pakistan dangerous for all countries Farooq AbdullahShe was forcefully administered five tablets of Clonazepam of 05 mg each on January 11 2018 which is higher than the safe therapeutic dose Subsequently more tablets were givenThe 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 charge sheetThe peak concentration of clonazepam is achieved in the blood after one hour to 90 minutes of oral administration and its absorption is complete irrespective of administered either with or without food according to the concluding opinionDoctors were of the opinion that tablets given to the girl could have pushed her into a state of shock or comaThe crime branch had filed a complaint a charge sheet in case of juvenile when he was lodged at the correctional home in Kathua as per the laid down norms under the lawSangra who had been filing petitions at various courts finally got caught when an application for a birth certificate led to the unravelling of the conspiracy to proclaim him as a juvenileWith Sangra being tried in the gang rapemurder case the quest for justice for the girl who was smothered to death in captivity in January 2018 takes a decisive turnThe inconsistencies in dates and false information in the application for birth certificate filed by Sangras father on April 15 2004 were crucial in nailing the lieThe affidavit filed in the court cited the inconsistencies in the application to buttress its claim that Sangra was a juvenile This was submitted in court along with medical reasons by the Crime Branch which was contesting the trial courts decision to treat Sangra as a minorSangras father applied at the tehsildars office in Hiranagar Jammu for birth certificates of his three children Police said the date of birth of the eldest child a boy was stated to be November 23 1997 that of a daughter was February 21 1998 and Shubam Sangra October 23 2002The difference in the birth days of the two elder children was just two months and 28 days which by any medical standard is impossible the affidavit statesThis it says indicates the fathers casual approach in furnishing the particulars of the dates of birthMoreover no place of birth was mentioned for the older two but Sangra was stated to be born in a Hiranagar hospital A subsequent investigation did not corroborate this officials saidThe painstaking investigation which resulted in the affidavit was backed by a report of a board of medical experts that determined Sangras age as not less than 19 and not more than 23 on January 10 2018 when the brutal assault took place they saidThe case was transferred out of Jammu and Kashmir and shifted to Pathankot on orders from the Supreme Court on May 7 2018The special court on June 10 2019 sentenced three men to life imprisonment till last breath Sanji Ram the mastermind and caretaker of the devasthanam temple where the crime took place special police officer Deepak Khajuria and a civilian named Parvesh KumarThree other accused Sub Inspector Anand Dutta Head Constable Tilak Raj and special police officer Surender Verma were convicted for destruction of evidence to cover up the crime and handed down five years in jail and Rs 50000 fine each They are out on paroleThe seventh accused Vishal Jangotra son of Sanji Ram was acquittedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever