Court Frames Charges Against 7 Accused in Kathua Rape Case

The eighth accused in question is a juvenile.

The trial was shifted from J&K to Pathankot after a plea from victim’s family. 

(Photo: Reuters)

The district and sessions court in Pathankot on Thursday, 7 June, framed charges against seven of the eight accused of raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, officials said.

The eighth accused in the case is a juvenile.

The trial in the case began on 31 May with the seven accused being produced before the district and sessions judge after the Supreme Court shifted the case outside Jammu and Kashmir.

The case was transferred by the Supreme Court from Jammu and Kashmir to Pathankot in Punjab for a fair trial following a plea by the victim's family.

While transferring the case from Kathua to Pathankot, about 30 km away, the apex court had directed day-to-day in-camera trial.

According to the 15-page chargesheet of the Jammu and Kashmir's Crime Branch, the girl from a minority nomadic community, who was kidnapped on 10 January this year, was allegedly raped in captivity in a small village temple in Kathua district. She was kept sedated for four days before being bludgeoned to death.