Malegaon taluka of Nashik district came to a standstill on Friday (November 21, 2025) as thousands of people staged a massive protest outside the Malegaon District Court since morning demanding justice for a three-and-a-half-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in Dongrale village on November 16. The taluka observed a day-long strike.
A senior police officer said, “Thousands of people from 20-25 villages gathered at the court today. Malegaon taluka observed a bandh.”
A protester said, “It was the biggest protest so far and before this we held two more protests demanding death penalty for the accused. If justice is not served, we will hold more.”
The accused, identified as Vijay Khairnar, 24, was a daily wager who lived 200 meters from the child’s house. Police Inspector Pritam Chaudhary of Malegaon Taluka Police Station said he was arrested on the same day. “When he was taken to the station, he confessed to the crime. We were given seven days of police custody. The medical reports also agreed; there is enough evidence against him. The next step is to file an indictment. We have not yet filed it because we are still investigating whether he was alone or whether more people were involved in the crime.”
The police charged the accused under Section 66 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with sexual assault causing death, and Section 103, which deals with murder, both punishable with life imprisonment or death.
The horrifying incident happened on Sunday, November 16 at around 3pm. The child was playing on the verandah of her house when Khairnar, allegedly drunk, lured her with chocolate and took her to his house.
The child’s maternal uncle, a taxi driver by profession, rushed from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar after hearing about the incident. He said: “After raping the child, he damaged her face with a rock and killed her. He then threw her body into a compound wall next to his house in the hope that no one would identify her or guess that he had done it.”
When the whole village started searching for the missing child, Khairnar joined the crowd and pretended to be innocent. “Before anyone could enter the enclosure wall, he jumped twice and said there was nothing there, so no one had to check. But after a while, his unusual behavior was noticed and the police caught him. The body was found around 7:30 p.m. On the way to the police station, he accepted the crime and explained the whole crime he had committed,” he said.
At the time of the incident, the child’s mother, her one year older sister, aunt and grandparents were in the house. Her father, a photographer, left for work while her uncle was in Pune on a function.
“She was a 3.5-year-old older daughter. She was always playing with her toys. We couldn’t have imagined in our wildest dreams that this could happen,” said the mother.
The accused was supposed to be produced in court on Thursday, but the police postponed it due to the swelling crowd. “He was supposed to be produced yesterday, but seeing the crowd of public, the police could not take him to court. He was produced today,” the police said.
Protesters on Friday rammed the court gate and broke it, forcing the police to resort to lathi charge.
The incident sparked national outrage. Ministers including Girish Mahajan, Water Resources Minister of Maharashtra and Dadaji Bhuse, School Education Minister of Maharashtra, visited the family on Friday.
The all-India Janavadi Mahila Sanghatana condemned the crime, calling it a reflection of entrenched patriarchal attitudes and systemic failures. “The culprit must be severely punished,” the organization said in a statement. “The fact that the defendant dares to commit such horrific atrocities on a young girl so easily means that criminals have no fear of the police, the administration and the judiciary. This reality is very serious.”
The statement also criticized the government’s ineffectiveness in ensuring the safety of women. “After committing a crime, the rulers make such allegations that they will not spare the accused, whoever he is. But in reality the rate of investigation and punishment is very low,” it said, referring to similar cases in Phaltan, Pune and Badlapur.
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshvardhan Sapkal demanded a speedy trial and death penalty for the accused. “The incident of a three-year-old girl being sexually assaulted and murdered in Malegaon is outrageous and very serious. Criminals no longer fear the law in the state,” Sapkal said. “The state needs a strong and determined home minister. Devendra Fadnavis is an ineffective, passive and most ineffective home minister.”
Narhari Zirwal, Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Minister also visited the family accompanied by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil and said, “The accused will be given the harshest punishment for this crime. This is a heinous crime. I will take this matter up to the Cabinet. The accused will be tried in a fast-track court and within two months efforts will be made to get Chief Justice Ujpwal sentenced to death. Nowhere as a public prosecutor in a sensitive case.
Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad slammed the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government for the incident and said the rising number of crimes shows that women and young girls are not safe in the state. “CM Fadnavis should drop the Home Ministry charges and appoint a full-time Home Minister. I demand strictest punishment for the accused.”
Published – 21 Nov 2025 22:22 IST
