VIDEO | Pune minor rape and murder: Massive traffic congestion near Navale Bridge as villagers and the victim’s kin block the highway, demanding immediate action.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 2, 2026
(Full video available on https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/9dSME5t5Ih
Traffic on the busy Mumbai-Bengaluru highway came to a standstill on Saturday after large-scale protests broke out in Maharashtra’s Pune district over the rape and murder of a 3.5-year-old girl in Nasrapur village of Bhor taluka.
Hundreds of locals gathered near Navale Bridge, placing the child’s body on the road and demanding strict punishment for the accused. What began as a peaceful sit-in soon escalated into a road blockade, leading to long traffic snarls. Visuals circulating online showed vehicles queued for long stretches. Pune traffic police issued an advisory urging commuters to avoid the Wadgaon Bridge stretch and take alternate routes.
Authorities later cleared the road and dispersed the protesters.
#WATCH | Pune, Maharashtra | Police disperse the people who had blocked the Pune-Bengaluru Highway in protest against the Nasrapur minor rape & murder case.
— ANI (@ANI) May 2, 2026
The 65-year-old accused in the case has been sent to Police custody till 7 May by the Judicial Magistrate First Class… pic.twitter.com/DWOLpr9gWh
What happened in Nasrapur?
As per a report by the Hindustan Times, police said that the child had gone missing around 3 pm while visiting her grandmother during summer vacation. Her grandparents began searching and later alerted locals before filing a complaint at the Rajgadh police station.
Villagers reviewed CCTV footage and spotted a 65-year-old man entering a cattle shed with the child. They tracked him down near a riverside and assaulted him before police intervened.
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When officers reached the shed, they found the child dead. Her head was smashed, and her body had been concealed under cow dung. The accused was taken into custody and, as per the police, admitted to the crime.
An investigating officer said the man “lured the child into the cattle shed on the pretext of showing her a calf, where he sexually assaulted and killed her.”
Case details and investigation
Police suspect the accused killed the child by hitting her face with a stone after the assault and attempted to hide the body. A case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
He has been remanded to police custody till May 7 by a Pune sessions court.
Massive protest on Pune-Bengaluru Highway over minor girl rape and murder case /ANI Superintendent of Police Sandeep Singh Gill said the probe is ongoing. “He is an elderly man with a similar pattern of behaviour. The victim is from Pune and had come to visit her grandmother to the village on a summer vacation. As the village is sparsely populated, police are investigating how the accused lured the child while she was playing,” he said.
Police also confirmed the accused had prior cases under the POCSO Act in 1998 and 2015 and was acquitted in 2019.
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Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condemned the incident and said he would seek capital punishment for the accused.
Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde instructed officials to build a strong case, while Sunetra Pawar met the family and assured a fast-track trial.
He also directed the Pune Rural police to gather concrete evidence and ensure a watertight case so that the accused faces the strictest punishment.
The child’s last rites were carried out shortly after midnight at Pune’s Vaikunt crematorium under tight police security.
