Overview
- Investigators took the 65-year-old suspect back to the Nasrapur cattle shed and had him show how he gagged the child, part of a step-by-step reconstruction under heavy security.
- An autopsy confirmed the girl died from asphyxia consistent with gagging, and doctors also noted injuries that police say reflect severe assault.
- The accused remains in custody under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, India’s new criminal code, and the POCSO child-protection law, with a six-member Special Investigation Team building the case.
- State leaders, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, pledged to seek the death penalty and press for a fast-track trial as police move to file a quick chargesheet and appoint a special public prosecutor.
- Public anger has surged with road blockades and rallies, the suspect’s wife and son have disowned him and demanded the harshest sentence, and a separate Pune arrest over an alleged assault on a 9-year-old has deepened concern over child safety.