Preeti Rathi acid attack: Prosecution seeks death penalty

Mumbai, September 7 

The prosecution on Wednesday demanded capital punishment for 26-year-old Ankur Lal Panwar, convicted of murder in the Preeti Rathi acid attack case.

Special Judge A S Shende, who convicted Panwar yesterday, heard the prosecution and the defence on the point of sentence. The court is likely to pass the order on Thursday.

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam termed the case fit for death sentence, saying that it falls in the “rarest of the rare” category.

Objective of the sentencing is to deter criminals and like-minded persons from committing such crime, he said, contending that “the court would be failing in its duty if a just and appropriate punishment was not awarded”.

Nikam submitted that the country has now become so conscious about crime against women that after the Delhi gangrape case of 2012, amendments were made to IPC.

Acid attack is a crime against women, he said, seeking an exemplary punishment for the convict.

Panwar did not commit the crime on the spur of the moment but it was a pre-planned attack, said the prosecutor.

“If he is given a lesser punishment and if he is released after completing the sentence, other girls would not be safe,” Nikam said.

Meanwhile, the district legal services authority has asked the Maharashtra government to pay a compensation of Rs two lakh to Rathi’s parents, besides another Rs 2000 for the expenses of her funeral. Her parents had applied to the authority for compensation. — PTI