Pune, May 2 In a tragic incident that has sparked widespread outrage across Maharashtra, a four-year-old girl was brutally assaulted and murdered in Nasrapur from Bhor tehsil in Pune district.
Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar visited the victim's family in Pune to offer her condolences and assure them of swift justice. During her visit, the grieving family members and local residents surrounded Sunetra Pawar, demanding that the perpetrator be tried immediately and handed the strictest possible punishment.
Responding to the public’s outcry, Sunetra Pawar placed a phone call to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (who also holds the Home portfolio) in the presence of the crowd.
The Chief Minister assured the family that the case would be fast-tracked and directed the Pune Rural Superintendent of Police to take the most stringent action against the accused.
The crime took place on May 1 in Nasrapur, where the minor had come to visit her grandmother for the summer holidays. At approximately 3:30 pm, a 65-year-old man lured the girl away from her home by promising to show her a calf.
He took her to a nearby cowshed, where he assaulted her. To silence the victim, he killed her and hid her body under a pile of dung, said police sources.
When the girl went missing, the family began a frantic search. Upon checking local closed-circuit television footage, the suspect was seen leading the child towards the cowshed. Her body was later recovered from the site.
The nature of the murder led to tension in the area, with villagers surrounding the police and demanding immediate action. Police sources confirmed that the accused was arrested by the Pune Rural Police and produced in court, which remanded him to police custody until May 7.
The Maharashtra government has taken serious cognisance of the matter. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condemned the act in the strongest terms, describing it as a "blot on humanity".
He directed the Pune Rural Police to ensure a watertight case and announced that the trial would be conducted in a fast-track court.
The Chief Minister assured the public that the true story and all facts would be brought to light soon and that the government would seek the death penalty for the accused to set a stern precedent.
He has ordered increased police patrols in the Bhor region to restore residents' sense of security.
Following the protests in Nasrapur, the Chief Minister confirmed that senior police officials, including the Superintendent of Police of Pune Rural, are overseeing the investigation to ensure no loopholes remain in the prosecution’s case.
He reiterated that the state will present the case in a fast-track court to secure the harshest possible punishment for the accused.
--IANS
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