A massive protest was held over the alleged rape and murder of a three-and-a-half-year-old girl in Pune district. The police identified the accused as a 65-year-old man, against whom two similar cases were registered. The police and forensics team are on the scene and an investigation is underway.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Pune rape and murder case:
1. Pune Rural Police SP Sandeep Singh Gill said a three-and-a-half-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered by a 65-year-old man in a village in Pune district.
According to him, the accused lives in the neighborhood of the girl. “He (accused) lured the girl and did this…We arrested the accused within an hour of receiving the information…,” Gill said.
He added, “The accused has two similar cases registered against him, including a POCSO case in 2015. Investigation shows that he has this tendency…”
2. People blocked the Pune-Bengaluru highway on Saturday as they staged a protest against a case of minor rape and murder in Pune. The video captured heavy traffic on the highway.
Protests continued in Pune on Sunday, with protesters demanding the death penalty for the accused.
Shiv Sena women workers protested against the incident. Shiv Sena leader Sarika Pawar he said, “We are Shiv Sena leaders but as women we keep politics aside… and we see this injustice done to a 3-year-old child is beyond the tolerance level.”
“The accused should only be hanged and we demand that it be done urgently… Neither the party nor the ruling party promotes crime and injustice… Shiv Sena’s agenda is to raise voice against injustice and we will raise our voice for women’s safety,” Sarika Pawar said.
3. The victim’s father said: “… My family and I have only one request: until my daughter gets justice and the criminal is hanged, no politician should come to meet us. That is our humble request.”
“Only when this criminal is given the death penalty will we meet politicians or anyone who wishes to meet us. Until then no politician should come to my house to offer condolences…,” he said in a video message.
4. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni called the incident “very tragic and also named the accused as Bhimarao Kambale. She said she had spoken to the victim’s mother.
“I am just coming back from a meeting with her. She is very angry…In my conversation with my mother, she said that she wants to see the accused killed and that is exactly her expectation,” Kulkarni said.
She added, “May this expectation be fulfilled soon as demands for death penalty are coming from everywhere and such cases are heard repeatedly from different places…”
“A good lawyer, public prosecutor is needed to ensure speedy execution of the death penalty. All arrangements are being made by the government,” Kulkarni said.
Shiv Sena MLC Neelam Gore was also quoted by IANS as saying, “There is a strong demand for the death penalty for the accused and the family is understandably very distressed…”
5. NCP-SP MLA Rohit Pawar also reacted to the incident and said, “The accused was twice in jail, twice out on bail and the third time he did it, tortured and killed a 3.5-year-old daughter.” He spoke about the introduction of the ‘Shakti Act’.
Pawar said, “The law needs to be changed here as the present law has many loopholes…Therefore it is very important to introduce the Shakti Act. From Commission for Women to Commission for Children, apolitical leaders should be appointed there…”
“Therefore, when the government demands the death penalty, only then the criminal can be awarded the death penalty or capital punishment,” said Rohit Pawar.
6. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said the government must be held responsible for the incident.
“…criminals in this state have no fear of the law or the government. People come from different places, settle and commit heinous acts,” Raut told the media.
“If anyone is responsible for this, it is this government, specifically the state home minister, who also happens to be the chief minister,” Raut said.
“The entire police and the entire law and order machinery is involved in political maneuvering and preoccupied with providing VIP security. The Chief Minister spends months campaigning for the assembly elections, traveling to Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam…,” Raut said.
7. Earlier in the day, police security was deployed at the Vaikunth Dham crematorium ahead of the last rites of the Nasrapur minor rape and murder case victim. The 65-year-old accused in the case was sent to police custody till May 7 by the Judicial Magistrate First Class in Pune, Maharashtra.
8. Amid protests and road blockades on Sunday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured that the government would pursue the death penalty for the accused and the trial would be expedited to ensure justice in “record time”.
Devendra Fadnavis said, “I personally spoke to the victim’s father twice yesterday. I explained to him that our aim is to ensure that the accused is given the death penalty.”
“To this end, we are taking all necessary steps through the High Court to expedite the filing of the charge sheet and trial of the case. Our endeavor is to complete the entire process in record time… We will ensure that there are no legal loopholes which can be exploited… We have also given written assurance to the victim’s family that the case will be expedited in court…,” Fadnavis said.
He added: “The incident is extremely serious and public anger is natural and justified. However, some people are trying to take advantage of the situation and divert it in another direction. I thank the victim’s father for understanding the situation. After discussions with the police commissioner, he decided to call off the protest.”
“Unfortunately, some people also tried to stop him. We are aware of who those individuals are, but we don’t want to deal with it now… we stand firmly with the family. We will also investigate whether the accused has a previous criminal record and whether there were any lapses in handling such cases earlier,” said Devendra Fadnavis.
9. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Maharashtra’s Pune district, sparking huge outrage. A Pune police officer said an SIT comprising six police officers, including two women, has been set up to investigate the crime.
“Depending on the progress of the investigation, we will add more police officers and personnel. The team will investigate the case thoroughly,” he said on Sunday.
10. The accused was placed in a police cell until May 7.
