Convict in Kopardi rape-murder case ‘dies by suicide’ in Pune’s Yerwada jail

Officials said Shinde was undergoing treatment for mental illness in the prison. The police have informed his family members about the death.

The Kopardi case pertains to the rape and subsequent murder of a 14-year-old girl by three men in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district’s Karjat taluka on July 13, 2016. The incident had sparked massive protests across the state.

As per police records, the victim was returning home on a bicycle from her grandfather’s house around 6.45 pm on the day when the trio stopped the girl and sexually assaulted her before murdering her. A case was lodged at Karjat police station following a complaint filed by the girl’s cousin.

The police first arrested Shinde from Shrigonda in Ahmednagar on July 14. According to officers, Shinde worked at a brick kiln and was married. Then on July 16, the police nabbed the co-accused Santosh Gorakh Bhaval from Karjat and Nitin Gopinath Bhailume from Pune.

They were booked under sections 302 (murder), read with section 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 376(2) (i)(m) (rape), read with 120(b), section 354A (1) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. In November 2017, the Ahmednagar district and sessions court awarded the death sentence to all three men.