Mumbai, May 5 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has assured residents of a Pune village, where a 4-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered last week, that the state government will not rest until the culprit is hanged.
The police have been asked to build a watertight case against the accused, Shinde told residents of Narsapur in Pune district during his visit on Monday.
The residents gave him a memorandum demanding the death penalty for the 65-year-old man accused in the case. They told Shinde that the accused had committed a similar crime twice in the past.
The girl was allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered by the accused at Narsapur in Bhor tehsil of Pune district on May 1, sparking massive outrage and protests.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday assured that the government will push for a death penalty for the accused and said the state will fast-track the trial to ensure justice in “record time”.
During the visit on Monday, Shinde told villagers that he spoke to CM Fadnavis, who has taken a very serious view of the crime.
“The state government will not stay quiet until it ensures that the culprit is hanged,” he told the residents.
Shinde said he and the CM have directed the Pune Superintendent of Police to ensure that evidence is collected to prepare a watertight case for trial.
The deputy CM further said he has also asked the police to book the accused under stringent legal provisions so that he is not let off under the pretext of his age or mental condition.
Directions have been given to file the chargesheet in the case at the earliest and also appoint a public prosecutor who is adept at handling such cases. The court will also be requested to hold the hearing on a daily basis, he added.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, in a post on Facebook, said the government should “finish off” the accused without worrying about what the law says. He also questioned why such cases keep happening.
Whenever the government says it will take “fast-track” action in such cases, it should also define what it means by fast-track, he said.
It is only after such incidents happen that the government wakes up. In Maharashtra, the number of girls and women being abducted and exploited has risen enormously. And this is not something that has gone up in just one year; it has been increasing year after year, Thackeray claimed.
This means the fear of the law has completely disappeared, he added.
There were also reports that the protesters in the Nasrapur area were lathi-charged after this incident. Why does the government show such promptness against protesters, but not against those who exploit women and girls? the MNS leader asked.
The accused must be punished, and he will be punished, but why do such incidents keep happening again and again? In Maharashtra, which laid the foundation for women’s education and women’s empowerment in the country, why do such incidents keep recurring? This deserves some serious, holistic thought, Thackeray said. PTI PR GK
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