Pune/Mumbai: A special Pune court on Monday sentenced a 65-year-old man to death for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a three-year-old girl in Nasrapur village, a verdict coming within 60 days of the horrific crime that sparked widespread outrage and protests across Maharashtra.
Terming the case “rarest of the rare,” Additional Judge S R Salunkhe rejected the defence’s plea for leniency based on age of the accused, Bhimrao Kamble, highlighting his history of violence and stated his depravity shocked the conscience of the judiciary and society.
“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.
As the judge pronounced the capital punishment, the victim’s family broke down in court. 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 minor girl with the promise of snacks and showing her a newborn calf in Nasrapur village under Bhor taluka of Pune district in western Maharashtra. 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.
Three of the offences he was charged under carry the prescribed punishment of capital punishment. 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”.
Talking to reporters outside the court, special public prosecutor Ajay Misar termed the ruling “landmark,” stating that the prosecution successfully relied on 12 Supreme Court precedents to establish the “rarest of the rare” criteria.
