Man who 'gang-raped Muslim girl, eight, for three days at Indian temple, stopped her killer as he beat her to death with a rock so he could have sex with the child one last time'

• Asifa Bano was abducted while grazing family's ponies in the Himalayan foothills
• The eight-year-old's raped and mutilated body was found in woods a week later
• Police say she was drugged and raped for three days before being murdered
• One attacker asked another to delay the murder so he could rape her a final time
• Eight men accused of involvement pleaded not guilty in first court appearance

By JULIAN ROBINSON FOR MAILONLINE-16 April 2018

A man who gang-raped of an eight-year-old Muslim girl for three days at an Indian temple stopped her killer as he beat her to death with a rock so he could have sex with the child one last time, police have revealed.

A man who gang-raped of an eight-year-old Muslim girl for three days at an Indian temple stopped her killer as he beat her to death with a rock so he could have sex with the child one last time, police have revealed.  

Asifa Bano's mutilated body was found a week after she was kidnapped by a gang trying to drive away the Muslim nomadic herders to which she belonged in India's Jammu and Kashmir. 

As a trial began today of eight men accused of involvement, police released shocking new details of the attack and how she was sedated and kept without food in a small village.

Police say she was held in the temple for three days while three men gang-raped her repeatedly before she was strangled and hit twice with a heavy rock. One of the men involved ordered another attacker to delay her murder so he could rape her one last time, police say.

 A lawyer has been threatened with rape and death for fighting for justice for Asifa Bano - an eight-year-old Muslim girl who was raped and murdered in India


Eight men have gone on trial over the murder. They include Sanji Ram (pictured arriving at court today), a retired revenue official, who, according to Indian media, is accused of being the main conspirator, inciting his nephew to abduct the child. He was also said to be in-charge of the temple where the gang-rape and murder took place

One of the men on trial is Deepak Khajuria (pictured outside court today), a special police officer

One of the men accused of involvement in the case is escorted by police at the District and Sessions court in Kathua today

Eight men, including four police and a Hindu temple custodian, have been arrested over the attack and appeared in court on Monday for the first hearing in a case that has sparked nationwide outrage. 

Ankur Sharma, a lawyer for the accused, said the men had pleaded not guilty and were willing to take a lie-detector test. The court adjourned the case for procedural reasons, he added.  

The temple's custodian, retired public servant Sanji Ram, is accused of conspiring with four police officers, a friend, his son and a juvenile nephew to kill the girl and destroy crucial evidence.