Pune: A man was arrested in Pune on Friday for allegedly kidnapping, raping and then murdering a 1-year-old baby girl.
On Thursday, the accused Malhari Bansode kidnapped the minor while she was sleeping with her parents on the side of a road near the Loni Kalbhor railway station. The girl’s parents are labourers and hail from Tamil Nadu.
On realising that the girl was missing around midnight, her mother filed a complaint with the local police.
The police swung into action and within a few hours found the minor’s body in a nearby area.
A medical examination revealed she was sexually assaulted before her head was smashed against the ground, police said.
“During the investigation, we found CCTV footage in which a man was purportedly seen taking away a girl. Our detection team zeroed in on the accused and during interrogation, he confessed to raping and killing her,” a senior police officer said.
A case has been registered and Bansode has been booked
under relevant sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, the officer said.
Prasanta Patnaik