He is a cruel man, does not deserve to live in society: Preeti Rathi’s father

Panwar’s relatives didn’t attend court on Thursday after he asked them not to, saying they may not be able to handle the verdict

After Preeti Rathi’s killer Ankur Panwar was sentenced to death on Thursday, Rathi’s father Amarsingh said he was satisfied with the verdict. “He is a cruel person and does not deserve to live in the society. If he approaches the Bombay high court, we will contest the case there too,” Amarsingh said.

Preeti’s father Amarsingh breaks down outside the court after her killer was handed the death sentence.(Kunal Patil (HT Photo))

Panwar’s relatives didn’t attend court on Thursday after he asked them not to, saying they may not be able to handle the verdict. Talking over the phone, Panwar’s father Narayanlal expressed shock at the death sentence handed to his son. “We as a family want justice for Preeti but punishing an innocent will never give her family justice. He used to call Preeti ‘didi’. They were not even in the same place [when she was attacked]. We cooperated with the investigators throughout,” he said.

He added that while his son had expected to be convicted, he hadn’t expected the death penalty. “Ankur had written a letter long ago, stating that the verdict might not be positive and that we will have to fight the battle in the high court,” Narayanlal said.

Panwar’s mother Kailash said, “Preeti was a good girl but my son is innocent. We had sought a CBI investigation but our plea went unheard.”