Protests over Kopardi rape continue on day 3

Villagers in Kopardi held a condolence meeting on Tuesday to mourn the death of ‘Nirbhay’, a minor girl who was gangraped and murdered on June 13, even as morchas, bandhs and agitations continued at some places in Maharashtra for a third day.

Readers may recall that a 14-year-old girl was brutally tortured, raped and murdered near her house in Kopardi village of Ahmednagar’s Karjat tehsil. The heinous crime outraged people and the issue led to the Legislature being held up.

Shivprahar Sanghatna president Sanjeev Bhor-Patil, who was one of the organisers of the condolence meeting in Kopardi, told The Asian Age that the villagers had informed him that they had given another suspect’s name to the police, but no arrests were made in that regard.

Ahmednagar SP Saurav Tripathi, however, said: “The police are investigating this sensitive case seriously. An additional SP-level police officer is supervising the investigations conducted by the inspector (crime). I, too, am monitoring the case. If the villagers have any names, they should forward it to the police and we will take action as per the law.”

All India Human Rights Association, North Maharashtra president Murtuza Kanchwala said that the case has affected society severely and added that strict action should be taken against the rapists.