A wave of anger swept through Maharashtra’s Pune district on Saturday after the alleged sexual assault and murder of a four-year-old girl by a 65-year-old man. Residents staged a massive protest, blocking the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway and demanding the strictest possible punishment for the accused, who has been arrested.
According to police, the crime took place on Friday in a village in Bhor tehsil. The accused allegedly lured the child with the promise of food and took her to a shed in a cattle enclosure, where he sexually assaulted and killed her. The victim’s family began searching for her after she went missing, and later examined CCTV footage from a nearby residence. The footage reportedly showed the accused with the girl, leading to his identification and arrest.
Police officials stated that the accused, a labourer by profession, has a prior criminal record. “The accused has a criminal history, with cases registered against him in 1998 and 2015. He was subsequently acquitted in both instances. He typically wanders around the village and takes up odd jobs,” Pune (Rural) Superintendent of Police Sandip Singh Gill said, as quoted by PTI.
Authorities have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Police have assured residents that the investigation will be expedited, with a chargesheet to be filed within 15 days and the case fast-tracked in court.
The brutal nature of the crime has triggered widespread outrage, with locals demanding not only justice in this case but also stronger safeguards to prevent such incidents in the future.
The incident has also ignited a political storm, with opposition leaders targeting the Maharashtra government. Senior leader Anil Deshmukh termed the crime “extremely outrageous” and demanded the death penalty for the accused. He alleged that crimes against women have been on the rise during the tenure of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Deshmukh further criticized delays in implementing stricter laws, referring to the proposed Shakti Act, which was passed by the state legislature in 2020 and sent to the Centre for presidential assent. “Had this strong law been in force, the accused would have received the death penalty within 15 days,” he claimed.
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