Pune, May 8 (IANS): In a landmark demonstration of rapid law enforcement, the Loni Kalbhor Police Station in Pune, Maharashtra, arrested 46-year-old Shridhar Limbaji Kamble and filed a formal charge sheet in court within just 24 hours after he allegedly sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl in the Theur area of Haveli Taluka. The accused reportedly lured the child, who was playing in her neighbourhood, by offering her food before committing the assault. Upon receiving the complaint from the victim’s mother, officers moved swiftly, tracking Kamble down to his hideout and taking him into custody without delay. Charges were registered under Section 74 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, along with Sections 8 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Bypassing the typical months-long legal process, the investigative team expedited evidence collection to ensure the accused faces the full weight of the law at the earliest, setting a significant precedent for the protection of minors in the region.
This decisive action comes against the backdrop of deep public unrest in the Pune district triggered by a separate and deeply disturbing case in the Bhor Taluka region, where a 65-year-old man, Bhimrao Kamble, stands accused of the sexual assault and brutal murder of a three-year-old girl – a crime authorities have described as one of “unimagined cruelty.” A preliminary post-mortem report from Sassoon General Hospital revealed a harrowing level of depravity, with medical findings indicating that the victim died due to suffocation and severe physical torture after the accused allegedly stuffed a cloth sock into the child’s mouth during the assault. Together, these two cases have cast a harsh spotlight on child safety in Pune, with the swift police response in the Loni Kalbhor case being widely seen as a direct signal that law enforcement is under pressure to act decisively in protecting vulnerable minors from such heinous crimes.