Pune: A 25-year-old man from Junnar taluka was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping his neighbour’s nine-and-half-year-old daughter and strangling her to death on Tuesday.Pune Rural police made the arrest and said the accused dumped the girl’s body near a stream in a sugar cane field about one-and-half km from their area. Thereafter, he joined the search operation with villagers and the police team.Superintendent of police (Pune Rural) Sandeep Singh Gill said, “We took the man into custody after a villager alleged he had seen the girl with the accused on Tuesday. During sustained questioning, the man admitted to having raped and murdered the minor.”The officer said police recovered the girl’s body late on Tuesday night and sent it for a post-mortem examination.The man has been arrested under sections 103 (murder), 64 (rape), 65(2) (rape of a woman under 12 years of age), 140 (kidnapping in order to murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.Gill said the accused lived in the same neighbourhood as the girl’s family. On Tuesday, the victim was watching TV at home with another child. The accused approached and lured her by promising a guava. “He took the girl to a farm about one-and-half km away. He raped her near a stream, strangled her to death and went home,” he said.The officer said the girl’s parents returned home in the evening and found her missing. They looked for her in the village and then lodged a complaint with the police. “We registered a case of kidnapping around 8.30pm and began the search,” he said.A villager said the man had also joined the search. He said, “The man was seen riding his bicycle in the CCTV footage. Police received information about the accused’s involvement in the kidnapping and took him into custody.”Gill said, “The man admitted to raping and killing the girl. We have arrested him. We will submit the chargesheet to the court within 15 days.”Meanwhile, deputy CM Sunetra Pawar said the incident was extremely unfortunate and a stain on humanity. She said the Pune Rural police acted promptly and arrested the accused. “I will speak with CM and home minister Devendra Fadnavis and request the case be heard in a fast-track court,” she said.Pawar said she had spoken with Gill and reviewed the investigation. “Police have been directed to conduct a transparent and thorough investigation, and take stringent action against the accused,” she said, adding that she would visit the village and meet the girl’s family.
