On Tuesday when there was vociferous clamour for capital punishment to those behind the brutal rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that his Government would seek death penalty for those found guilty in the shocking crime.
Replying to a debate in the State Assembly on the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl, Fadnavis said, "This is a serious crime. We will seek death penalty for those found guilty in the crime. Only after hanging will the right message go in the State".
"A five-member team, including forensic experts, will help bring the case to charge sheet level in next 4 to 6 days. DNA evidence is scientific evidence and will help in conviction," the chief minister said.
A day after he assured the State Assembly that the Kopardi rape and murder of a minor girl would be fast-tracked and that the State Government had already appointed Ujjwal Nikam as the Special Public Prosecutor, the chief minister said in his reply, "We will also ensure there are no adjournments in the case".
Exhorting the people across the State not to vent their ire on the issue, Fadnavis said, "I appeal to people in the State to stop venting their ire over the issue....It is not factual that there was delay in police action. All three accused have been arrested. Action will also be taken against the fourth accused as well"
A 15-year-old girl was brutally raped on July 13 allegedly by three men who inflicted injuries all over her body and broke her limbs before throttling her at Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district. The incident took place, when the teenage girl was returning after meeting her grandfather.