Pune: Barely 55 days after the crime was committed, a special fast-track court in Pune, on Monday, awarded the death penalty to a 65-year-old man for the rape and murder of a three-year-old girl.
Calling it a “rarest of rare” case, the court convicted Bhimrao Kamble, a casual worker, for kidnapping, raping and murdering of the child at Nasrapur village in Bhor taluka on May 1.
The sentence was pronounced by special judge S R Salunkhe after he found the nature and motive of the crime heinous enough to warrant capital punishment, as reported by The Times of India.
“All the parameter
s required to convict a person and award a death sentence have been fulfilled here. The nature of the crime is extremely barbaric; the accused committed the offence solely to satisfy his lust. Observing this barbaric nature and the fact that the offence was proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the court sentenced him to death, categorising it as a “rarest of rare” case,” advocate Vipul Dushing, representing the victim, said.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had ordered a fast-track trial and appointed Ajay Misar as special public prosecutor after widespread outrage and protests. The police filed the chargesheet within 15 days, listing 82 witnesses.
Charges were framed against Kamble on May 28, followed by an in-camera, day-to-day trial, with final arguments concluding on June 21.
According to court documents, the girl had come to her grandmother’s home in Nasrapur for summer vacation. On May 1, the accused lured her to a nearby cowshed on the pretext of showing her a newborn calf, where he raped and killed her before concealing the body.
CCTV footage showing Kamble leading the child to the cowshed proved central to the prosecution’s case. Villagers apprehended him and handed him over to the police.