Defence wants to quiz CM in Kopardi gangrape case

Mumbai: The defence lawyers of the rape accused in the Kopardi gangrape incident have said that they want to call special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in the examination box for the stand taken by the state with regards to the accused even before the crime was proved.

Advocate Balasaheb Khopade, who is appearing along with his daughter Vijaylaxmi Khopade for accused Santosh Bhawal said that after the incident the CM had told the Maharashtra legislature that the accused would be hanged to death for their crime. Hence, the CM’s name was added in the list of witness that the defence wants to examine.

The trial is underway in the court of sessions Judge Suvarna Keole. The defence advocates have submitted a list of six defence witnesses they would like to examine, which includes Mr Fadnavis and Mr Nikam. Mr Khopade submitted the list on Thursday.

On July 13, 2016, a 15-year-old girl from Kopardi village, Ahmednagar was brutally raped and murdered by three men, which included Bhawal, Jitendra Shinde and Nitin Bhailume.

Ten days after the incident, Mr Fadnavis appointed special public prosecutor Mr Nikam to oversee the investigations. After the investigations were completed a 350-page chargesheet was filed and the trial got underway recently.

Mr Khopade said that the appointment of Mr Nikam to oversee the investigation and Mr Fadnavis’s statements that the accused would be hanged even before the trial got underway was grounds for their examination.

On Friday, the court accepted the application of Khopade and said that a decision on the same will be decided on July 7.