Rape of 4-year-old sparks massive protests in Pune, highway blocked, Fadnavis seeks death penalty: Top developments

THe sexual assault and remove of a four-year-old miss in Maharashtra's Pune territorial dominion has sparked outrage and protests, with protestors demanding strict litigate against the accused.The venial girl was allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered by a 65-year-old labourer in a village in Bhor tehsil on Friday, police said on Saturday.According to the police, the accused allegedly “lured the child” with the promise of food. The 65-year-old then “took her to a shed in a cattle enclosure, where he sexually assaulted her and killed her”, PTI news agency cited a police official as saying. The girl's relatives began looking for her after she went missing. A CCTV footage taken from a private residence captured the accused with the child, following which he was arrested.“..The accused is a 65-year-old man who lives in the surrounding area. He lured the girl and did this...We arrested the accused within an hour of receiving information...” Pune Rural Police SP Sandeep Singh Gill told ANI news agency.Pune-Bengaluru highway blocked; CM assures action: Top developmentsProtestors block Pune-Bengaluru highway: Protestors took to streets after outrage over the incident, blocking the Pune-Bengaluru highway. After the incident, hundreds of villagers had gathered at a police chowki and the highway on Friday night, demanding strict action against the accused.Accused had two cases against him: According to Pune Rural Police SP Gill, the accused already had “two similar cases registered against him including a POCSO case in 2015.”“The accused has a criminal history, with cases registered against him in 1998 and 2015. He was subsequently acquitted in both instances,” Gill told PTI news agency. Fadnavis says will seek capital punishment: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state government will demand capital punishment against the accused. While calling the incident “condemnable and tragic”, he said the case would be taken up in a fast-track court.“I would like to request the High Court to give us a special public prosecutor, and we will demand capital punishment in the court,” ANI cited Fadnavis as saying.Sule questions accused's bail in previous cases: NCP(SP) MP Supriya Sule, meanwhile, questioned the accused's release in the previous cases against him.“... Our question to the Maharashtra government and police is that if this man had two cases against him, why was he out on bail?... Had he been hanged earlier, perhaps the lives of two children could have been saved...” she said, according to ANI.Sunetra Pawar meets minor's family: Maharashtra deputy CM Sunetra Pawar met the family of the minor girl on Saturday and assured them of strict action in the case.Pawar described the incident as “shocking”, while saying that the state government stands with the victim's family, PTI reported. A statement from Pawar's office said instructions were issued to file a charge sheet at the earliest.Sapkal demands Fadnavis' resignation as home minister: Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal criticised the state government, demanding the resignation of Fadnavis as home minister.“At least now, he (CM Fadnavis) should listen to his conscience and resign as home minister as an act of atonement,” Sapkal said at a press conference, PTI reported. The Congress leader said the incident was a blot on Maharashtra's image, alleging a breakdown of law and order. In the state.