A four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered by a senior citizen in a village in Maharashtra`s Pune district, police said on Saturday.
As reported by news agency PTI, police have arrested a 65-year-old man in connection with the incident that occurred in Bhor tehsil on Friday.
Police officials, while briefing about the incident, said, “The accused allegedly lured the child with the promise of food and took her to a shed in a cattle enclosure, where he sexually assaulted her and killed her,” as per PTI.
They further added, “When the girl went missing, her relatives began looking for her. During the search, CCTV footage from a private residence captured the accused with the child,” as cited by PTI.
Officials further confirmed that the accused was arrested soon after the probe was launched.
Incident triggered outrage
The incident triggered outrage in the area, as hundreds of villagers rushed to a police chowki and demanded stern action against the accused. The mob later staged a blockade on the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway, resulting in heavy traffic.
Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandip Singh Gill assuaged the mob, assuring the public that a chargesheet in the case will be filed within 15 days and the trial will be held in a fast-track court.
Case registered under POSCO Act
Talking to the media on Saturday, Gill said, “The accused has a criminal history, with cases registered against him in 1998 and 2015. He was subsequently acquitted in both instances. He is a labourer and typically wanders around the village and occasionally takes up jobs,” as per PTI.
A case has been registered against the accused under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
20-year-old Bhiwandi tailor arrested for raping a minor and trying to force her into marriage
A 20-year-old tailor from Thane district has been arrested on charges of raping a minor and trying to force her into marriage after Hindutva activists disrupted their planned interfaith wedding, an officer told news agency PTI on Monday.
The accused, a resident of Shantinagar in Bhiwandi near Mumbai, has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for rape and criminal intimidation, as the alleged offence took place when the IPC provisions were applicable.
According to police, the accused and the girl – a first-year arts student from a college in Dombivali – became friends through social media while both were minors, and their friendship later turned into a relationship, PTI reported.
On March 6, the girl travelled to Bhiwandi to marry the accused as per Muslim customs. The accused had made all arrangements, including arranging a Qazi and witnesses, police said.
However, activists from a Hindutva organisation reached the venue and staged a massive protest against the interfaith marriage, creating a major commotion, PTI reported.
The matter was first reported at Shantinagar Police Station in Bhiwandi. As the girl resides in Dombivali, the case was later transferred to the Vishnunagar Police Station.