Gagan Kanojia and Rajinder Kumar, two men convicted...

Gagan Kanojia and Rajinder Kumar, two men convicted of murdering eight-year-old Heena and her six-year-old brother Abhishek in June, 2000, were sentenced to death by Jalandhar District and Sessions Court, India. "Since the crime committed by the accused is rarest of the rare, they be hanged from neck till death," the Judge pronounced. Justice Aggarwal had, two days previously, convicted the two for the murder of the siblings. Heena and Abhishek were killed after they had gone missing on the evening of June 8, 2000. Their bodies, stuffed in a gunny bag with their heads wrapped in polythene bags and hands and legs tied, were recovered the next day from a secluded plot. Their school bags were found near the bodies. According to the prosecution, Gagan, a neighbour of the kids, picked them from near their house in Mukhdoompura locality on June 8 when they were returning from classes. The accused also wrote a letter to the family demanding Rs 10 lakh as ransom. They reportedly planned to eliminate the siblings prior to the kidnapping to avoid identification.