Two rapists who attacked young Indian girl are sentenced to death
The sentence was one of the first ordered under a new law allowing for fast track trials and capital punishment for child rapists
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An Indian court on Tuesday sentenced two men to death for the rape and attempted murder of a girl in Mandsaur, a crime that sparked angry protests.
The sentence was one of the first ordered under a new law allowing for fast track trials and capital punishment for child rapists.
Crowds chanted “Death to rapists!” after the brutal attack on the girl in the central state of Madhya Pradesh two months ago. The victim, whose age has been reported as seven or eight, is still in hospital with critical injuries.
The men, age 20 and 24, picked up the child outside her school in Mandsaur as she waited for her father.
They took her to a secluded spot where she was raped and her neck slashed, and she was left to die. Her life was saved after local residents discovered her and rushed her to hospital.
A court in Mandsaur passed the sentence.
In April, India made the rape of children up to age eight a capital offence after widespread outrage over earlier cases.
The last execution for rape was 14 years ago in Kolkata in eastern India. Dhananjay Chatterjee, a building guard, was hanged for the 1990 rape and murder of an 18-year-old.
Sexual violence is rife in India, with nearly 40,000 rape cases reported in 2016. Activists say that number is just the tip of the iceberg.
India has been the focus of international attention since the 2012 gang-rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus sparked nationwide protests and highlighted its poor record on sexual violence.
