E-Paper
Minor boy sexually assaulted, murdered in Pune’s Wakad area; suspect arrested
According to the complainant parents, the boy went out to play at around 6 pm in front of private housing society in Wakad area. As he did not return home even after 8 pm they initiated a search but failed to locate him. They then approached police and filed a missing complaint
An eight-year-old boy was allegedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered in Wakad area Sunday late night, said police.
Pimpri-Chinchwad police have arrested the suspect identified as Pavan Jageshwarprasad Pande, 28, a native of Chitrakoott in Uttar Pradesh. He allegedly lured the minor with a promise of vada pav treat and kidnapped him.
The suspect had recently joined as a worker at a sugarcane juice centre in the area.
According to the complainant parents, the boy went out to play at around 6 pm in front of private housing society in Wakad area. As he did not return home even after 8 pm they initiated a search but failed to locate him. They then approached police and filed a missing complaint.
Considering the gravity of the situation, police formed two teams and initiated a search operation.
Police said, during analysis of CCTV footage in the locality, the missing boy was seen with the suspect.
Initially the accused did not offer satisfactory answers. Later during interrogation, he confessed to kidnapping the victim and after sexually assaulting the boy he murdered him. He then threw the body in a nearby area along a road in Bavdhan.
A team of police recovered the body of the victim on Sunday and sent it for post mortem.
The victim’s father works as a labourer at a brick factory, said police.
Bapu Bangar, deputy commissioner of police, said, “The accused kidnapped the victim by luring him with a promise of vada pav treat and subjected him to unnatural sex with him. To avoid police action, he killed the boy by strangulation.’’
During investigation it was found that the owner of the juice centre did not carry out police verification of the accused before recruiting him. Hence police have booked the owner under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
A case has been registered at Wakad police station under sections of 302 (murder), 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder), 365 (kidnapping or abduction with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person), 367 (kidnapping or abducting in order to subject person to grievous hurt, slavery,) 368 (wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement, kidnapped or abducted person), 377 (unnatural offences), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the IPC and sections 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
