Pune Court Hands Death Sentence To Bhimrao Kamble In 4-Year-Old Girl's Rape-Murder Case

Pune: A sessions court in Maharashtra's Pune on Monday awarded the death penalty to a 65-year-old man, Bhimrao Kamble, convicted of raping and murdering a four-year-old girl at Nasrapur village in Maharashtra’s Pune district.

What did the court say?

The court of Special Judge SR Salunkhe on Monday awarded death penalty to 65-year-old Bhimrao Kamble who has been convicted of rape and murder of a minor girl in Nasrapur village. The incident took place on May 1.

During the hearing, the court stated that life imprisonment is insufficient for this heinous crime. Even death penalty is too small a punishment, but the court has no greater punishment to impose. 

The Pune special fast-track court handed a  death penalty in the sensationl rape and murder case, marking the conclusion of a landmark 55-day trial under the POCSO Act.

What is the case?

The incident occurred on May 1, when the minor girl was playing in front of her house in Nasarpur. Bhimrao Kamble came and abducted her and took her to a cowshed. There, he raped her and crushed her head with a stone. He then buried her body under a pile of cow dung. When the family couldn't find her by noon, a search began. She was subsequently found dead in the cowshed. CCTV footage from the area made it clear that Bhimrao Kamble had taken her there. 

In this rapidly escalating case, the Pune court convicted the accused on June 25 and scheduled sentencing for June 29. Four days later, on June 29, the convict was sentenced to death. 

Before Bhimrao Kamble was convicted on June 25, the judge placed him in the dock. The judge asked Kamble to recall the heinous crime he had committed and to personally state his punishment. Bhimrao Kamble then recounted the entire incident and stated that he had done nothing wrong. The court interrupted him mid-sentence.

Special Public Prosecutor Advocate Milind Pawar told the court that throughout the proceedings, Bhimrao Kamble showed no remorse for committing such a heinous crime against an innocent 4-year-old girl. The lawyer representing the girl's family had been demanding the death penalty from the outset.