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Journalism of Courage
Joint District and Sessions Judge JS Narialwala on Wednesday awarded death sentence to a man accused of raping and murdering a nine-year-old girl.
The accused, Ramesh Rathod (30), was found guilty of rape and murder of nine-year-old Khushboo Naresh Patel, at the final hearing of the case in a fast track court.
On December 17, 1999, Rathod, a watchman at Shanudeep Apartments in Adajan where Khushboo lived, took the girl to a secluded spot near Pal Jakatnaka, where he raped and then killed her with a sharp-edged weapon. The next day police found Khushboo’s mutilated body in a farm near Jakatnaka.
Khushboo was a student of Class IV. Her parents, Naresh Patel and Kailashben, and brother Brijesh (17) expressed satisfaction with the judgment. A distraught Naresh Patel told The India Express, ‘‘We had lost faith in the judiciary but now after four years we have been vindicated. This will set an example for others.’’
