Six Sonai killers to be punished on January 20

Mumbai: Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Thursday made an impassioned plea for death penalty against the six convicts in the January 2013 Sonai triple murder case, on the basis of evidence against them, in a Nashik sessions court.  However, the defence lawyer pleaded that it was not the rarest of rare case that attracts the capital punishment. After hearing both the sides, the court, which was expected to pronounce the quantum of punishment today, adjourned the proceedings and set Saturday as the date for pronouncing the judgement.

During the previous hearing, additional sessions judge Shri Vaishnav of Nashik had held six persons guilty and acquitted another accused for the murder of the three deceased Sachin Sohanlal Gharu, Sandeep Raju Dnanwar and Tilak Raju Kandare, who were all sanitary workers.

On Thursday, when the court convened to pronounce the quantum of punishment for the accused, their relatives, the kin of the murdered men and others crowded the court premises. Advocate Nikam stated that the six accused were a blot on humanity, had transgressed all bounds of cruelty and misled the investigators, and demanded the death penalty for them.

However, Advocate Bhide argued that it was not the rarest of rare case and hence the punishment should be mitigated and the accused should get life imprisonment.

The court on January 15 had held six persons guilty in the triple murder of the three sanitary workers in Sonai village, in Ahmednagar district on January 1, 2013. The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on January 20.