Three found guilty in Kopardi gang rape-murder that rocked Maharashtra

Ahmednagar (Maharashtra): All three accused in the sensational gang-rape and murder of a minor schoolgirl in Kopardi in July 2016, have been found guilty by a special court here on Saturday.

Vijayalaxmi Khopade, the lawyer for one of the accused, said that the verdict was delivered by Ahmednagar District and Sessions Judge Suvarna Keole under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Posco) Act.

Another lawyer, Prakash Aher, told IANS that the quantum of punishment for the convicts will be argued and decided on Tuesday, November 21, by the same Special Court.

The Kopardi gang rape case took place on July 13, 2016, when a 15-year-old schoolgirl was brutally gang raped, mutilated and killed, sparking off a major casteist and political furore in Maharashtra.

The police nabbed the three prime accused -- Jitendra alias Pappu Babulal Shinde (26), Santosh Gorkha Bhawal (30) and Nitin Gopinath Bhailume (28) -- who have been found guilty by the court under various charges including rape, conspiracy, kidnapping and murder.