Sonai 'honour' killings case: Nashik court sentences six to death

A local court in Nashik on Saturday sentenced six convicts to death in the 2013 Sonai honour killing case.

The three youths were brutally killed in Sonai village of Ahmednagar district. on January 1, 2013, and their mutilated body parts were found in a septic tank.

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had demanded the death penalty for the six convicts, saying they displayed extreme brutality in committing the "cold-blooded" crime.

In his arguments on quantum of punishment, Nikam had said, “This is a typical case of honor killing, where some upper caste had brutally murdered three youths belonging to the schedule tribe, just because one of the deceased was in love with the daughter of the accused. Deceased Sachin Gharu was an innocent man and in no way had made provocations for the violence. The anger of the accused went upto the extent that they cut the hand and legs of Gharu in eight pieces and the same were recovered from the borewells by the police. The accused also killed the other two eye-witnesses Sandeep Thanwar and Rahul Kandhare, by throwing the former one in a septic tank, while hitting the latter on his head, in order to get rid of prosecution.”

However, Defence advocate SS Adas had demanded leniency citing the age of the convicts.

While the youngest convict is 23, the eldest is 52.

On January 15, Judge R R Vaishnav had convicted Popat alias Raghunath Darandale (52), Ramesh Darandale (42), Prakash Darandale (38), Ganesh alias Pravain Darandale (23), Ashok Navgire (32) and Sandeep Kurhe (37) - all residents of Ahmednagar district - under various sections of the IPC.

However, Ashok Phalke (44) was acquitted by the court after the prosecution failed to establish the charges against him.

According to police, the killings were prompted by an intercaste love affair between Gharu and a girl from the Maratha community. The victims belonged to the backward Mehtar community.

(With agency inputs)