Pimpri-Chinchwad: A shocking incident has come forward in the Maval Tehsil of Pune District, where a five-year-old girl was kidnapped and brutally murdered on Saturday night. The incident happened in the Shirgaon Parandwadi area at night, and on Sunday afternoon, police detained the prime suspect in this case. Preliminary investigation has made the police suspect that the victim might have been sexually assaulted, too. The victim was lured by the accused on the pretext of giving her sweets and chocolates, and then the tragedy happened.
A case has been registered at the Shirgaon Parandwadi Police Station under the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate (PCPC). The victim’s mother has complained to the police. Police have arrested Samir Kumar Mandal (32, resident of Shirgaon, native of Jharkhand). He has been booked under the BNS sections 137 (kidnapping), 103 (punishment for murder), and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012.
According to police reports, the girl went missing on Saturday afternoon, and the family found out about it in the evening. The mother rushed to the police station, and the police started investigating the matter promptly, considering its seriousness. All the people involved in this live in a chawl in the Shirgaon Parandwadi area. The accused is a neighbour of the victim girl and her family.
CCTV Analysis Helps Police To Identify Accused
Speaking to the media about this incident, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Dehu Road Division) Balasaheb Kopner said, “The victim’s mother reached out to us at night, and officials from Shirgaon Police Station and the Crime Branch started investigating the matter. CCTV footage was analysed, and locals were questioned. Both of these helped police a lot. We determined the accused and detained him on Sunday morning.”
ACP Kopner further said, “After skilful investigation, the accused confessed to his crime. He showed where he dumped her body. It was around two kilometres away from their house. The accused told us that the victim and the accused walked towards the crime spot where the accused committed the crime.”
Although it has been speculated, and prima facie it seems the girl was sexually assaulted, when the mediapersons asked ACP Kopnar, he said, “It cannot be confirmed yet. We have sent the victim’s body for a postmortem. Forensic tests and postmortem will determine what actually happened.”
Meanwhile, speaking to The Free Press Journal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) Vishal Gaikwad said, “A case has been registered at the police station. The accused has confessed. We are investigating the matter further to have an idea of his motives and the exact reason behind why he committed this murder.” Regarding rape speculations, too, DCP Gaikwad said police are waiting for forensic reports to confirm this.
Horrific History Of Similar Offences In Pimpri-Chinchwad
- Wakad 2024: An eight-year-old boy was kidnapped in Wakad in February 2024. A labourer working at a sugarcane juice stall near the boy's house kidnapped him and took him to Bavdhan. The boy was sexually assaulted and murdered. The police arrested a young man originally from Uttar Pradesh in connection with this case. The accused had befriended the boy by offering him sugarcane juice.
- Wakad 2018: In 2018, the brutally murdered body of a boy aged 3 to 4 years old was buried in an open plot near Santosh Mangal Karyalaya in Wakad. The matter came to light after animals dug up the body. In this case, there was a suspicion of black magic (witchcraft).
- Pimpri 2018: In 2018, a four-year-old girl was kidnapped by a neighbour in Bhat Nagar in Pimpri. She was sexually assaulted and murdered. Her body was dumped at the HA ground in Nehru Nagar. The accused in this crime has not been arrested yet. Due to the shock and trauma caused by the assault on their daughter, the girl's mother and father both passed away within a few months.
- Chinchwad 2013: A ragpicker took a young boy from Nagsen Nagar in Chinchwad to the Tata Lake in KSB Chowk and sexually assaulted him. The accused in this incident is still at large.
- Nigdi 2012: Thirteen years ago, a 4-year-old girl was kidnapped from Ota Scheme in Nigdi. She was taken near the old toll plaza on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway, sexually assaulted, and killed. After her body was found, the police launched a search for the accused, but the perpetrator has not been found yet.
- Kasarwadi 2012: A family used to earn a livelihood by collecting spilt flour from a mill. Every evening, a five-year-old girl would come to the mill entrance to collect the flour. One day, while the girl was outside the mill to collect the flour, she was kidnapped by an unknown person. She was assaulted, and her body was thrown onto the railway tracks near Kasarwadi Railway Station. The girl was crushed under a passing train. This incident took place in Kasarwadi thirteen years ago.
