2 min readPuneUpdated: Jun 29, 2026 12:45 PM IST
In less than two months after the brutal rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in a village in Maharashtra’s Pune district, a special fast track court Monday sentenced the 65-year-old accused to death, holding that the case fell in the “rarest of the rare” category.
The accused was produced before the court under tight police security at 11 am as the courtroom filled with family members of the victim, lawyers, journalists, and members of the public.
The parents and family members of the victim broke down after Special Judge S R Salunkhe awarded three death sentences in murder, rape, and under a provision of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
The court cited incidents of rape in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh in the judgment, observing the brutal crimes and subsequent public outrage.
The act of the accused was brutal, inhuman and barbaric, said the court as it observed that the crime did not just shock the judicial conscience but also the public conscience.
On June 25, Special Judge Salunkhe convicted the accused and posted the matter for sentencing Monday after hearing the prosecution and defence on the aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
According to the police, the girl, who was at her grandmother’s house, was raped and murdered on the afternoon of May 1.