2 years after rape, murder of 7-yr-old, man gets death

Two years after the shocking rape and murder of a minor girl in Goregaon (W), the Dindoshi sessions court yesterday sentenced a 57-year-old man to death after he was convicted of the crime.

Neighbour from hell: Babasaheb Kamble was awarded the death penalty for raping and murdering a seven-year-old girl in his house at Kranti Nagar in Teen Dongri slums on October 28, 2011

Judge U Joshi Phalke awarded the death penalty to Babasaheb Kamble for raping and murdering the seven-year-old girl in his house at Kranti Nagar in Teen Dongri slums on October 28, 2011. They were neighbours.

"I was waiting for this judgment from a long time, and today my daughter has finally got justice. I am very thankful to the Goregaon police for its thorough investigations," said the victim's mother, soon after the verdict was delivered.

Public Prosecutor Madhuri Mahajan, who was representing the victim's family, said that they had been anxiously waiting for the final order, and that justice was finally delivered yesterday. She also went on to say that this was a ‘rarest of rare' crime, and the death penalty was apt in the case.

Complimenting the cops on their meticulous work, she said that the evidence collected from the spot after the incident made the case very strong. She also said that after a judgement like this, fear would creep into criminals. "We are very happy and are also thankful to the judiciary who delivered the judgment in favour of the victim's family," said Mahajan.

The incident had sparked an outrage with neighbours even thrashing Kamble after the matter came to light. Investigating officer Raju Kasbe said they had accorded top priority to the case and with the help of forensic, medical and other reports they built a strong case against Kamble. "We had filed a chargesheet within 60 days and are pleased with the judgment," said Kasbe.

Meanwhile, lawyer Geeta Malvankar, who was asked to defend the accused, said that since Kamble had failed to pay the fees to his previous lawyer, the court had appointed her instead. "I fought the case as per my ability, and if government asks me I will represent him again. Today, I urged the honourable court to commute his death penalty to life imprisonment, but it was rejected," said Malvankar.u00a0