Man held in alleged rape-murder of minor

The Sangli police on Thursday arrested a suspect in the alleged murder and rape of a four-year-old girl in Karajagi village in Jat tehsil of Sangli district, said police

The Sangli police on Thursday arrested a suspect in the alleged murder and rape of a four-year-old girl in Karajagi village in Jat tehsil of Sangli district, said police.

The incident was reported between 11am and 2pm on Thursday when the minor’s parents found her missing and later approached the Umadi police station. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

The accused labourer, identified as Pandurang Somanna Kalli, 45, of Karajagi village in Sangli district, is a criminal on record with a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act case filed against him in 2016. After his release from jail recently, Kalli was living alone as his wife had left him 20 years ago.

The incident was reported between 11am and 2pm on Thursday when the minor’s parents found her missing and later approached the Umadi police station. Police questioned the accused after knowing that he lived in the same locality as the minor.

Sandeep Kamble, assistant inspector, Umadi Police Station, said, “During a search of the house of the accused, we found bloodstains on an iron trunk. We found the body in the metal suitcase. The autopsy of the body will be carried out as part of the investigation.”

Sandeep Ghuge, Sangli superintendent of police (SP), said, “Initial probe reveals that the accused raped and killed the victim and dumped the body in an iron trunk to destroy evidence. We produced him in the court on Friday and he was granted seven-day police custody.”

Meanwhile, angry villagers staged a protest demanding immediate arrest and fast track trial of the case. The villagers staged a bandh on Friday and gathered in front of the Umadi Police Station seeking speedy trial of this case.

Umadi Police Station has filed a case against the accused under Sections 103 (3) (punishment for murder), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 66 (causing death or resulting in persistent vegetative state of victim) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the POSCO Act.