Kamal Ghorui
PUNE: The alleged rape and murder of a three-year-old girl near Nasrapur in Bhor taluka on Friday afternoon triggered widespread outrage and protests across the district, leading to several road blockades, which continued late into Saturday evening.The accused, identified as Bhimrao Kamble, a 65-year-old farm labourer and resident of a neighbouring village, was apprehended by a police team following a review of CCTV footage from the area. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the state govt would move for a fast-track court trial and seek death penalty for the accused.
Superintendent of police (Pune Rural) Sandeep Singh Gill said the girl was lured away around 3.30 pm on Friday while she was playing alone outside her house. Her family, who are farmers, reported her missing around 5.30 pm.“Our teams immediately began reviewing CCTV footage and gathering local intelligence. One camera captured Kamble taking the child away,” Gill said. “Upon being tracked down, the suspect led us to a tin shed used for cattle, located approximately 700 metres from the girl’s home. We recovered the child and rushed her to a hospital, where she was declared dead.”Preliminary investigations suggest the child was raped and then gagged with a piece of cloth, leading to her death. “We also found head injuries on her. A special team of four officers has been formed, and a chargesheet will be filed expeditiously,” Gill added.Police revealed that the accused has a history of sexual offences. “Kamble was first booked for molestation in 1998 but was later acquitted. A second case was registered against him in 2015 involving a minor relative, but the complaint was subsequently withdrawn. We will be reviewing both these past cases,” Gill said.On Friday evening, angry villagers staged a road blockade, demanding justice for the victim. They also blocked the Pune-Bengaluru highway for over an hour on Friday night. On Saturday afternoon, residents took out a silent march to condemn the incident. Protests were also held on the Katraj-Dehu Road bypass and Sinhagad Road, severely disrupting traffic. The State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and additional local units have been deployed in Nasrapur and surrounding areas to maintain order.Around 5pm on Saturday, the girl’s body was brought to Sassoon General Hospital for a post-mortem, after which it was handed over to her relatives. “Samples of her internal organs have been collected for analysis and will be sent to a forensic laboratory for examination,” the hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Yallappa Jadhav, said.Following the post-mortem, as the ambulance carrying the girl’s body was heading to Bhor taluka for her final rites, it was stopped around 6 pm at Wadgaon Bridge by protesters demanding stern action against the suspect. This caused vehicular movement towards both Mumbai and Satara to come to a standstill for approximately four-and-a-half hours.Around 10.30 p.m, police used mild force to clear the traffic on the Katraj-Dehu Road bypass. “Vehicular movement was restored by 11 pm,” Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said. “We initially counselled the family members and relatives before clearing the road,” he added.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
