Maha: Girl brutally raped, killed; Cong for CM's resignation

A 15-year-old girl was brutally raped allegedly by three men who inflicted injuries all over her body and broke her limbs before throttling her in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district, sparking outrage as well as political slugfest with the Congress demanding Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' resignation on "moral grounds".
All three accused, Jitendra Shinde, Santosh Bhaval and Nitin Dhailume, were arrested by the local crime branch after the incident occurred on July 13, police said today.
The crime has sparked protests in Karjat taluka in Ahmednagar district, where villagers took to streets demanding strict action against the accused.
According to police, the deceased was a student of class IX.

"The incident took place on July 13 between 6.45 PM and 7.30 PM when the 15-year-old victim was returning after meeting her grandfather. She was accosted by three persons, namely Jitendra Shinde, Santosh Bhaval and Nitin Dhailume, who gangraped her violently before throttling her to death. Her both shoulders were found to be dislocated," Ahmednagar SP Saurabh Tripathi told PTI.
He said Shinde alias 'Pappu' was arrested on July 14 while the other two accused were held later.

Giving details about the incident, another police officer said in Ahmednagar that the trio (Shinde and two others) were consuming liquor under a tree to celebrate purchase of new motorcycle by Shinde when they saw the girl passing by.

"The complainant, Shivram Sudrik, stated that he saw Shinde with the girl who was lying behind a tree. The girl had wounds all over her naked body and blood was oozing from her nose.
"When he (Sudrik) tried to catch Shinde, the latter pushed him and fled. The villagers then rushed the girl to public health centre in Kuldharan in the district, where the doctors declared her brought dead. Her autopsy was conducted on Thursday. As per the postmortem report, her limbs were found to be broken," the officer said.
He said Shinde is a brick kiln worker and used to stalk the girl.

The accused were booked under IPC sections 376 (punishment for rape), 302 (murder) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The district collector has announced ex gratia of Rs 3 lakh to the family of the deceased and handed over a cheque.
"We have a chief minister who also holds Home portfolio.
He refuses to acknowledge that the law and order situation in the state is deteriorating under his tenure. He did not even have time to go and visit the bereaved family. He should immediately take moral responsibility and resign," the Congress leader said.
Leader Of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde demanded capital punishment for the accused besides a high-level inquiry into the matter.

He alleged that photos of Ahmednagar district Guardian Minister Ram Shinde with the "prime accused" in the case are doing rounds in media.
"There was laxity on the part of police officials in arresting the accused. Photos of Guardian minister (of Ahmednagar district) Ram Shinde with the prime accused are going around in media. Thus, there needs to be a high-level inquiry into the incident. Also, we demand fast track hearing of this case and capital punishment for the accused," the NCP leader said.
(Reopens BOM13)
Meanwhile, Fadnavis said the government will request
public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam to take up the rape-cum-murder case of the minor girl.

On the reports that one of the accused was seen in a photograph with Water Conservation Minister Ram Shinde, the CM said the photo having gone viral on social media is not of the accused, but it is a "case of mistaken identity".
"Moreover, there are two persons with the same name as Santosh Bhaval (name of one of the accused)," he told reporters at the customary tea party at 'Sahyadri' state guest house here on the eve of the beginning of the monsoon session of state legislature.
Fadnavis appealed to political parties and various organisations to "not vitiate" the atmosphere over the incident.