Adding to a string of incidents where minor girls are sexually assaulted and murdered, another similar incident was reported from Maharashtra’s Pune on Wednesday, where a man aged 25 allegedly raped and murdered a minor girl (9) in a village near the city.

Police said they have arrested the accused, while the incident sent a wave of infuriation among the villagers and the victim’s kin, who blocked the Pune-Nashik highway, demanding death penalty for the accused and a fast-track trial in the case. 

Girl belonged to labourer’s family

According to police, the victim girl belonged to a farm labourer’s family and was enrolled in Class 4. Police learnt she did not go to the school on Tuesday, as she was feeling unwell.

A preliminary probe by police suggests that the accused found out the girl’s parents were not at home. He then allegedly raped and her strangled her to death.

When the girl was not found at her home, her kin and villagers began searching for her across the area. After hours of efforts which bore no fruit, her kin lodged a missing person complaint with the police.

The cops launched a search operation, during which the accused allegedly himself joined the villagers in the search operation. 

Accused held on basis of CCTV footage

The police sifted through the footage of the CCTV cameras installed in the area upon receipt of information about the girl’s disappearance. 

During the probe, the cops spotted a suspicious person travelling on a bicycle in one of the CCTV recordings. When the accused, identified as Sahil Khaire, was questioned about the footage, he admitted he was the very person seen riding the bicycle. During sustained interrogation, he allegedly confessed to committing the crime. 

Girl’s body recovered from beneath a tree

Acting on the disclosure of the accused, the police recovered the girl’s body from beneath a tree near a stream. The cops sent the girl’s body for autopsy, while a forensic team examined the scene to collect evidence. 

When the incident came to the cognisance of Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, she termed it ‘unfortunate’ and said it had brought immense shame to humanity. 

She then dialled the rural Superintendent of Police (SP) of Pine, Sandeep Singh Gill and sought detailed information regarding the investigation.

Thereafter, she directed the police to conduct a fair and transparent probe and ensure the strictest action is taken against the accused. 

Deputy CM Pawar added that she would request Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis to have the case heard at a fast-track court so that the accused is brought to justice swiftly.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="mr" dir="ltr">पुणे जिल्ह्यातील जुन्नर तालुक्यातील पिंपळवंडी इथं साडेनऊ वर्षांच्या चिमुकलीवर अत्याचार करून तिची निर्घृण हत्या झाल्याची घटना अत्यंत दुर्दैवी आणि मन हेलावून टाकणारी आहे. या घटनेनं मनाला अतिशय वेदना झाल्या.<br><br>या प्रकरणी पुणे जिल्ह्याचे पोलीस अधीक्षक संदीप सिंह गिल यांच्याशी…</p>&mdash; Sunetra Ajit Pawar (@SunetraA_Pawar) <a href="https://x.com/SunetraA_Pawar/status/2089950467212169327?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Villagers fume in Pimpalwandi

The incident left the residents of the Pimpalwandi and Junnar region fuming, who demanded strict action against the accused. They too voiced demands for the case to be heard in a fast-track court.

People staged sit-ins and demanded that the accused be awarded a death penalty at the earliest.