In a horrifying incident that has shaken the city of Kalyan, a case of kidnapping, assault, and murder of a minor girl has raised serious concerns about safety and justice. The accused, Vishal Gawli and his wife Sakshi Gawli, were arrested earlier this week after being implicated in the gruesome crime. Today, both are scheduled to be presented before the Kalyan court for further legal proceedings.
The case has sparked outrage among local residents, with public protests demanding the harshest possible punishment for the accused. Residents and activists have expressed their dissatisfaction with the legal process, calling for capital punishment for the accused as a means to ensure justice and prevent such heinous crimes in the future. Gawli was arrested for allegedly kidnapping, raping and killing a 12-year-old girl on December 27. The accused confessed to having lured the girl to his house as his wife was away at her parent’s place in Buldhana. Both Gawli and his wife Sakshi, were arrested for abetment of murder, and were remanded to police custody on Thursday, till January 2.
The 12-year-old girl, a resident of Kolsewadi, went missing when she went out to buy chips. According to the police, Gawli kidnapped her from the spot, took her to his house, raped and killed her, and was stuffing her body into a bag when his wife returned from her parents’ place around 6pm. Sakshi, 25, was stunned but helped her husband get rid of the body, said a police officer from Padgha police station in Bhiwandi, where the crime was registered. The girl’s seminude body, with injury marks in her abdomen, was found near the cemetery by Padgha police on Tuesday morning and subsequently identified by her parents. During investigation, police came across CCTV footage of Gawli in Kolsewadi around the same time when the girl had gone missing; they corroborated this with his mobile phone location history. Gawli, who sported a thick beard earlier, had shaved it off in a bid to mislead the police. Residents of the locality are terrorised by the “local goon” – accused in at least eight cases – as he had molested several women in the past.