Missing 5-year-old girl found sexually assaulted, killed; man detained
Police said the child was allegedly lured away with chocolates by the accused. After the child’s parents reported her missing around 11:30pm, police launched a late-night search operation. Following CCTV analysis, they detained a 32-year-old man.
PUNE: A five-year-old girl, who went missing on Saturday evening, was found sexually abused and murdered in bushes near her home in Shirgaon, Maval taluka, on Sunday. Authorities said the child was allegedly lured away with chocolates by the accused on Saturday.
After the child’s parents reported her missing around 11:30 PM, Pimpri-Chinchwad police launched a late-night search operation. Following technical and CCTV analysis, police detained a 32-year-old man on Sunday. Footage reportedly showed the accused with the child shortly before she went missing. The accused, originally from Jharkhand, had been living near her home.
During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to killing the child and disposing of her body in nearby bushes. Following the post-mortem, it was established that the child had been sexually assaulted, the official said.
Balasaheb Kopnar, ACP of the Dehuroad division, said, “The accused works as a labourer in a private company and lives near the victim’s home. He killed the child by strangulation and later disposed of her body in the nearby area.”
Vishal Patil, senior police inspector at Shirgaon Parandwadi police station, said, “The victim’s parents work as labourers, and she was at home with her elder brother before the incident.”
NCP SP leader and MLA Rohit Pawar on his X account condemned the rape and atatck on minor girl in Pune. “The news of the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in Maval is extremely shocking and deeply disturbing. It is a matter of concern that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has acknowledged in the State Assembly that crimes against women have increased in the state. While this acknowledgment is important, it is now the responsibility of the state government to take firm action to curb such crimes.”
The accused has been booked under the section of 137(2), 64(1), 65(2), 103(1), of the BNS and sections 4, 5 (I), 5 (M), 6, 8, 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and further investigation is underway.
