Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti Monday welcomed the verdict of the Pathankot court in Kathua Rape and Murder case.

Omar called for severe punishment for the convicted and Mehbooba hoped that loopholes in judicial system would not be exploited.

Sanji Ram, the main accused.

“Amen to that. The guilty deserve the most severe punishment possible under law. And to those politicians who defended the accused, vilified the victim & threatened the legal system no words of condemnation are enough. #KathuaRapeCase,” Omar said in a tweet.

“Welcome the judgement. High time we stop playing politics over a heinous crime where an 8 year old child was drugged, raped repeatedly & then bludgeoned to death. Hope loopholes in our judicial system are not exploited & culprits get exemplary punishment,” former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said in a tweet.

The Pathankot court convicted six out of the seven accused, including the mastermind Sanjhi Ram in gangrape and murder of an eight-year-old Nomad girl and special police officer Deepak Khajuria, Surender Verma, Tilak Raj, and Anand Dutta.