4-year-old girl sexually assaulted, murdered in Pune; senior citizen arrested
A 65-year-old man has been arrested in Pune district after a four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted and killed. Police invoked POCSO and BNS
Pune, May 2 (PTI) 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.
The police have arrested a 65-year-old man in connection with the incident that occurred in Bhor tehsil on Friday, an official 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," he said.
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, the official said.
He was arrested soon after, he said.
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.
Talking to reporters 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." 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. PTI