Since the victim was talking and speaking for eight days after the incident, it cannot be said that the intention of the accused was definitely to kill her, the court said.
However, the main suspect was convicted for offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Indian Penal Code.
The court held Sandeep (20) held guilty under section 304 of (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Peal Code and sections of the SC/ST Act
Sandeep, the sole convict in the Hathras case in which a 19-year-old Dalit girl was killed, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.