Kathua rape-murder case: Arguments on framing of charges against main accused on June 26
The Hindu
A sessions court in Pathankot will on June 26 hear arguments on framing of charges against Shubam Sangra, prime accused in the 2018 rape and murder case of a minor nomad girl in Kathua of Jammu and Kashmir. The trial was transferred from Kathua in the Jammu region to Pathankot in Punjab following the direction of the Supreme Court. Ahead of it, the top court had in 2022 declared that Sangra was not a juvenile at the time of the offence and should be tried as an adult.
A sessions court in Pathankot will on June 26 hear arguments on framing of charges against Shubam Sangra, prime accused in the 2018 rape and murder case of a minor nomad girl in Kathua of Jammu and Kashmir.
The trial was transferred from Kathua in the Jammu region to Pathankot in Punjab following the direction of the Supreme Court. Ahead of it, the top court had in 2022 declared that Sangra was not a juvenile at the time of the offence and should be tried as an adult.
The apex court set aside the Jammu and Kashmir High Court's order of March 27, 2018 that had ruled that Sangra be treated as a juvenile.
The crime branch of Jammu and Kashmir police then filed a charge sheet against him before the Kathua court. Earlier, the same was filed before the Juvenile Justice Board.
Besides kidnapping and wrongful confinement, the charge sheet accused Sangra of offenses under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 376 (rape).
During its last hearing on June 17, Sessions Judge Jatinder Pal Singh Khurmi said in his one-page order that all original records had been received by the court and "now, the case is adjourned to 26.06.2023 for consideration on the point of framing of charge".
Sangra has been shifted from Kathua jail to a sub-district prison at Pathankot.
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