Anna Hazare seeks death penalty for accused in Kopardi rape case

Mumbai, Jul 19: Social activist Anna Hazare today sought death penalty for those accused of brutally raping and killing a 15-year-old girl at a village in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district.

"The case should be tried in a fast track court and the guilty be hanged," Hazare said in a statement issued here. The girl was raped last week allegedly by three men who inflicted injuries all over her body and broke her limbs before strangulating her at Kopardi village.

The incident sparked outrage as well as political slugfest, with the Congress demanding Fadnavis' resignation on "moral grounds".

Making a statement after ruckus by the opposition in the Assembly yesterday, the Chief Minister had said the accused in the heinous crime have been arrested and the case will be heard in a fast-track court.

Noted lawyer Ujjwal Nikam has been appointed as the public prosecutor in the case and the government has given Rs 5 lakh solatium to the victim's family, he said.

PTI