GUWAHATI: A lower court in Nagaon on Monday convicted Zakir Hussain for the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl at Batadrawa in Nagaon district on March 23. Hussain was the prime accused in the incident where the victim had been gangraped by him, along with two other minors, before being set on fire at her home at Nagaon's Lalung gaon area, some 116 km from Guwahati.The girl later succumbed to her injuries at Gauhati Medical College Hospital. In her dying statement, the victim had identified the culprits. The incident triggered shock across the country and the state government faced severe criticism for the rising rate of crimes against women and children in the state.A month after the incident, Assam Police had filed a 158-page chargesheet in the case against eight people. Police accused Hussain and two minors of gangraping the victim and five others of harbouring Hussain. The two minors are being tried in a juvenile justice board court. All the three were slapped with charges of gangrape, murder and trespassing under various sections of IPC as well as Pocso Act.The investigating team has added 43 supporting documents in forms of statements, seizure lists and other medical reports with the chargesheet. Several forensic reports, corroborated from top level labs from New Delhi, were also attached.The quantum of punishment for Hussain will be ordered on September 7. The court however acquitted the others accused in the case for lack of enough evidence.

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