A local court in Indian-controlled Kashmir Friday sentenced four men to death after being convicted in rape and murder of a teenage girl, officials said.

"Four persons were today sentenced to death by a district court in Kupwara in rape and murder of a teenage girl," a court official said. "The 13-year-old girl was abducted, raped and subsequently murdered by these four convicts in 2007."

The four convicts - two locals and two non-local labourers were found guilty.

The rape and murder of the girl triggered protests in the frontier district of Kupwara, close to Line of Control (LoC).

The court declared all the four convicts should "be hanged by neck to death".

Courts in the region and India execute convicts in the rarest of rare cases.

Though the convicted have the right to appeal against the sentence in the higher court.

The girl's family and the locals have hailed the court judgement and see it as a deterrent in preventing sexual attacks on women. Endi

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