The sexual assault and murder of a four-year-old girl in Maharashtra’s Pune district has sparked outrage and protests, with demonstrators demanding strict action against the accused.
The minor girl was sexually assaulted and murdered by a 65-year-old laborer in Bhor tehsil village on Friday, police said on Saturday.
According to the police, the accused allegedly “lured the child” with the promise of food. The 65-year-old “then took her to a cattle pen, where he sexually assaulted and killed her,” news agency PTI quoted a police official as saying. The girl’s relatives began searching for her after she disappeared. CCTV footage taken from a private house showed the accused with the child, after which he was arrested.
“..The accused is a 65-year-old man who lives in the surrounding area. He lured the girl and did so…We arrested the accused within an hour of receiving the information..” SP Sandeep Singh Gill of Pune Rural Police told news agency ANI.
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Protesters block the Pune-Bengaluru Expressway: Angered by the incident, protesters took to the streets and blocked the Pune-Bengaluru Expressway. After the incident, hundreds of villagers gathered at a police checkpoint and the highway on Friday night, demanding strict action against the accused.
There were two cases against the accused: According to Pune Rural Police SP Gill, the accused already had “two similar cases registered against him, including a POCSO case in 2015”.
“The accused has a criminal history, as cases were registered against him in 1998 and 2015. He was later acquitted in both cases,” Gill told news agency PTI.
Fadnavis says he will seek the death penalty: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the state government will seek the death penalty against the accused. While describing the incident as “condemnable and tragic”, he said the case would be heard in a fast-track court.
“I would like to request the Supreme Court to give us a special public prosecutor. We will seek the death penalty in court,” Fadnavis was quoted as saying by PTI.
Solly questions the defendant’s bail in previous cases: Meanwhile, Congress Party (SP) MP Supriya Sule questioned the release of the accused in the previous cases against him.
“…Our question to the Maharashtra government and the police is that if this man had two cases against him, why was he released on bail?…If he had been hanged earlier, perhaps the lives of two children could have been saved…,” she said, according to ANI.
Sunetra Pawar meets the minor’s family: Maharashtra MP CM Sunetra Pawar met the family of the minor girl on Saturday and assured them of strict action in the case.
Pawar described the incident as “shocking”, while saying that the state government stands with the victim’s family, PTI reported. A statement issued by Pawar’s office said that instructions have been issued to file an indictment as soon as possible.
Sapkal demands the resignation of Fadnavis from the post of Home Minister: Maharashtra Congress leader Harshwardhan Sapkal criticized the state government and demanded Fadnavis’ resignation from the post of Home Minister.
“At least now, he (CM Fadnavis) should listen to his conscience and resign from the post of Home Minister as an act of atonement,” Sapkal said in a press conference. The Congress leader said the incident was a blot on the image of Maharashtra, alleging collapse of law and order. In the country.
