Pune Court gives death penalty to 65-year-old for rape, murder of 3-year-old girl
A special Pune court sentenced a 65-year-old man to death for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a three-year-old girl in Nasrapur village, a brutal crime that sparked widespread public outrage and protests across Maharashtra.
Terming the case as "rarest of the rare", Additional Judge (special judge) S R Salunkhe sentenced Bhimrao Kamble, who was present in the witness box.
As the judge pronounced the capital punishment, the victim's family broke down in court.
Reading out the operative part of the decision, Judge Salunkhe said that the evidence clearly established aggravating circumstances in favour of the prosecution.
"The offences relate to the commission of serious crimes like murder and rape by an accused with a prior record and a substantial history of serious assault," the court observed.
The court had convicted the accused on June 25, within sixty days of the crime, which took place on May 1.
Kamble was accused of luring the young girl with the promise of snacks and showing her a newborn calf in Nasrapur village in Pune district. He took her to a shed near a cattle barn, subjected her to sexual and unnatural assault, and subsequently murdered her by gagging her and inflicting chest injuries.
"The offence was committed outrageously and involved inhuman treatment and torture of the victim. The victim was an innocent, helpless child. The murder was committed to satisfy lust, which evidences total depravity. It was a cold-blooded murder without provocation. The crime was committed so brutally that it shocks not only the judicial conscience but even the conscience of society," Judge Salunkhe observed.
The prosecution had sought the death penalty in the case, arguing that Kamble was “beyond reform”, and had prior offences involving a 62-year-old woman, a 17-year-old girl, and an animal.
The defence cited his age and denial of the crime as mitigating factors.
The court, however, held that Kamble’s age was an aggravating factor rather than a mitigating one.
"The thirst for lust of the accused is not extinguished even at such an age. Rather, it has reached a very dangerous stage. The injuries noted on the body of the victim reflect the inhuman behaviour of the accused with a child of just three years," the judge stated.
He further observed that whatever the accused wanted to do with the child, he did "fearlessly, most violently and without bothering about consequences, because he had prior experience that even if prosecuted, nothing would happen in court".
Judge Salunkhe noted that despite stringent punishments and special courts enacted after the Nirbhaya case to ensure speedy trials in crimes against children, "such incidents continue and the collective conscience of society remains shocked".
