Nasrapur Child Rape-Murder: Hundreds Protest On Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway In Pune; Deputy CM Pawar Meets Victim's Family
Police disperse the people who had blocked the Pune-Bengaluru Highway in protest against the Nasrapur minor rape & murder case.
Published : May 3, 2026 at 9:50 AM IST
Pune: Hundreds of people staged a 'Rasta Roko' (road blockade) protest on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune to protest the Nasrapur rape and murder of a four-year-old girl, leading to traffic disruption on the busy route for about four hours.
The girl's family members and other demonstrators placed the body on the road in the Navale Bridge area on Saturday evening and demanded stringent punishment for the 65-year-old man arrested in the case.
Several videos surfaced showing a huge traffic jam on the highway. Later, the victim's last rites were performed at the Vaikunt crematorium here shortly after midnight amid tight police security.
The accused man, who works as a labourer and has a criminal record, allegedly lured the girl with the promise of food on Friday in the Bhor tehsil of Pune district. He then took her to a cattle enclosure where he allegedly sexually assaulted her and later killed her by hitting her with a stone, according to the police.
He was arrested based on CCTV footage from a private residence, which captured him with the child. A case was registered against him under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and he has been remanded in police custody till May 7.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar on Saturday met the family of the victim. She assured the family that the accused, whom she termed a "monster", would receive the harshest possible punishment.
Describing the incident as "shocking" and a "blot on humanity", Pawar said the government stands firmly with the victim's family and will ensure justice.
She also spoke to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and sought a fast-track court trial so that the accused receives the harshest punishment. Deputy CM Eknath Shinde directed Pune rural police to gather concrete evidence to build a watertight case and conduct the trial in a fast-track court. Efforts should be made to ensure the accused gets the death penalty, a statement quoted Shinde as saying.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said that the state government will demand capital punishment against the 65-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a minor girl in Pune. Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, CM Fadnavis said that the case will be taken up in a fast-track court.
"The incident that occurred in Pune is highly condemnable and is tragic. A three or three-and-a-half-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and murdered by a 65-year-old man. The accused has been arrested. The people are angry following this incident. I assure you to take up the case in a fast-track court. I would like to request the High Court to give us a special public prosecutor, and we will demand capital punishment in the court," the Chief Minister said. (With PTI Inputs)
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