Nashik, Oct 16 A fast-track court in Maharashtra’s Nashik district on Friday sentenced a 24-year-old worker to death for raping and killing a four-year-old girl late last year, terming the gruesome crime as “rarest of the rare”.
Additional Sessions Court and Fast-Track Special Court (FTSC) Judge KG Paldewar handed the death penalty to the accused, Vijay Sanjay Khairnar, nearly a year after the brutal rape-murder of the minor girl sparked an outrage and triggered protests in several parts of the state.
The trial court at Malegaon town in the north Maharashtra district termed the crime as “the rarest of rare” while pronouncing the sentence.
The court also ordered that a Rs 10 lakh financial assistance be given to the family of the victim.
Accused Khairnar, who is in jail, and his lawyer Nilesh Rathi were present in the court through video conferencing.
After completion of arguments from defence and prosecution sides, the court delivered the judgement on September 30, convicting the accused, and announced the sentence on Friday.
Senior lawyer Ujwal Nikam was the special public prosecutor (SPP) in the case and was assisted by a legal team consisting of advocates Harshad Tiwari, Sneha Sharma and SK Sonawane.
On November 16, 2025, Khairnar, a welding and furniture worker, raped the four-year-old girl and later strangled her to death in a village in Malegaon taluka of Nashik district, according to the prosecution.
The victim had gone missing while playing near her home with her friends. Her body was later discovered near a mobile phone tower close to the accused’s house.
A case was registered against Khairnar under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections related to murder, rape, kidnapping, causing the disappearance of evidence and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at the Malegaon taluka police station.
The accused was arrested on November 17.
The horrific nature of the crime triggered massive protests across Malegaon taluka, surrounding regions in Nashik district and some parts of the state.
The prosecution’s case was based entirely on circumstantial evidence and the “last seen together” theory.
As per a government lawyer, witness testimonies, forensic reports, and medical examinations were used to prove the homicidal death beyond reasonable doubt.
SPP Nikam, while arguing that the case fell in the “rarest of the rare” category, characterized the incident as an unprovoked, cold-blooded, and heinous crime.
Sneha Sharma-Thakare, the lawyer for the victim’s family, argued that the accused intentionally targeted the victim while she was playing with five male classmates in a lane.
The accused, whom the children called “Dada”, lured the victim with a chocolate and took her inside his house, where he sexually assaulted her, Sharma-Thakare said.
Following the assault, the accused strangled the child using a kardoda (a thin thread), the advocate said.
The accused then washed away the blood stains, bathed, wrapped the body (in bedsheet), and disposed of the corpse in a mobile tower compound 10 to 15 feet from his house, the prosecution said.
Although the Indian Evidence Act has no specific provision for a chance witness, Nikam heavily supported the testimony of a chance witness who saw the accused throwing what looked like garbage.
The reasoned order was not available yet.
(PTI News)
