Chandigarh, February 15: The Punjab and Haryana High Court today commuted to life imprisonment the death penalty awarded to two Nepalese nationals in a minor’s rape and murder case, but the convicts will be in prison for at least 25 years.
District and sessions judge, Ambala had concluded the trial in 10 months and had sentenced Nepal citizens Naresh Shah and Inderjit to death penalty.
Deciding on an appeal, a division bench of justices Hemant Gupta and Jaswant Singh commuted the death sentence, but directed the convict would remain behind bars for at least 25 years, as the sentence will not run concurrently.
The two had taken the girl, the daughter of their acquaintance Ramadev Yadav to a field, where she was raped and strangulated to death.
–Agencies