Four-year-old girl sexually assaulted and murdered in Pune district; 65-year-old labourer held

A 65-year-old labourer was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting and murdering a four-year-old girl in Pune district’s Bhor tehsil. The incident triggered protests by villagers, while political leaders demanded strict punishment and speedy implementation of the Shakti Act

Pune: A four-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and murdered allegedly by a 65-year-old labourer with a criminal background, who has been arrested amid outrage and protests over the incident in Maharashtra’s Pune district, police said on Saturday.

A senior police officer assured protesting villagers that a chargesheet would be filed within 15 days and the case would be tried in a fast-track court.

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The incident occurred in a village in Bhor tehsil on Friday.

“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,” a police official said.

When the girl went missing, her relatives began searching for her. During the search, CCTV footage from a private residence captured the accused with the child, leading to his arrest.

A case has been registered against the accused under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The incident triggered outrage in the area, with hundreds of villagers rushing to a police chowki and demanding stern action against the accused.

They staged a blockade on the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway.

Pune (Rural) Superintendent of Police Sandip Singh Gill assured the villagers that a chargesheet would be filed within 15 days and the trial would be held in a fast-track court.

“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,” he told reporters.

Terming the incident “extremely outrageous”, former Maharashtra home minister and NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh on Saturday demanded the death penalty for the accused.

He accused the state and Central governments of passing the buck to each other over the implementation of the proposed Shakti Act to curb sexual crimes.

“How do such criminals roam freely in society? When I was the Home Minister during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s tenure, we approved the Shakti Act, which is pending final approval from the Central Government.

“When there is an urgent need for this law in the state, the Centre and the state government are passing the buck to each other instead of implementing it and wasting time,” he said.

Alleging that atrocities against women and girls are on the rise in Maharashtra, Deshmukh said the Devendra Fadnavis-led government is not serious about enforcing the stringent Shakti Act.

“Had this strong law been in force, this monster would have received the death penalty within 15 days,” he said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also heads the Home department, had said that the Shakti Bill was passed by the state legislature in 2020 and sent to the Centre for the President’s assent. He said the President subsequently sent it back.

The Maharashtra Legislative Council in March 2026 unanimously passed the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2026 to include provisions in the Shakti Bill to protect the identities of acid attack victims and ensure jail terms for online sexual overtures.