PUNE: Hundreds of protesters blocked the Mumbai–Bengaluru highway in Pune on Saturday following the rape and murder of a three-year-old girl, bringing traffic on the busy route to a standstill for nearly four hours. According to news agency PTI, the child’s family members and other demonstrators placed her body on the road near the Navale Bridge area, demanding strict punishment for the 65-year-old accused.A police team on Friday apprehended Bhimrao Kamble, a 65-year-old farm worker and a resident of a neighboring village. Several videos from the spot showed long queues of vehicles stranded on the highway as the protest escalated. The girl’s last rites were later performed at the Vaikunt crematorium in Pune shortly after midnight amid heavy police deployment.He then took her to a cattle enclosure, where he allegedly sexually assaulted her and later killed her by striking her with a stone.Preliminary investigations suggest the child was raped and then gagged with a piece of cloth, leading to her death. “We also found head injuries on her. A special team of four officers has been constituted. A chargesheet will be filed expeditiously,” an official said.The police said the accused had a history of sexual offences. “Kamble was first booked for molestation in 1998 but was later acquitted. A second case was registered against him in 2015 involving a minor relative, but the complaint was subsequently withdrawn. We will review both these past cases.” Police said he was arrested after CCTV footage from a nearby private residence showed him with the child. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. The accused has been remanded in police custody till May 7. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar met the victim’s family on Saturday and assured them of strict action and a fast-track trial. Describing the incident as “shocking” and a “blot on humanity”, she said the government stood firmly with the victim’s family. She also said she had spoken to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, requesting a fast-track court trial so that the accused receives the harshest punishment. Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde directed Pune rural police to collect strong evidence and build a watertight case. “Efforts should be made to ensure the accused gets the death penalty,” he said in a statement.
