Malegaon taluka in Nashik district came to a standstill on Friday (November 21, 2025) as thousands of people since morning staged a massive protest outside the Malegaon District Sessions Court demanding justice for a three-and-a-half-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in Dongrale village on November 16. The taluka observed a day long strike.
A senior police officer said, “Today people from 20-25 villages gathered in thousands at the court. Malegaon taluka observed bandh.”
A protestor said, “This was the biggest protest so far and prior to this we held two more protests demanding capital punishment for the accused. We will stage more if justice is not served.”
The accused, identified as Vijay Khairnar, 24, was a daily wager who lived 200 metres away from the child’s house. Police inspector Pritam Chaudhary of the Malegaon Taluka police station said he was arrested the same day. “He confessed to the crime while being taken to the station. We have gotten seven days of police custody. Medical reports have also matched; there is enough evidence against him. The next step is filing the chargesheet. We have not filed it yet as we are still investigating whether he was alone or more people were involved in the crime.”
Police have booked the accused under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 66, which deals with sexual assault causing death, and Section 103, which pertains to murder, both carrying punishments of life imprisonment or death.
The horrific incident occurred on Sunday, November 16, around 3 p.m. The child was playing on the porch of her home when Khairnar, allegedly drunk, lured her with chocolates and took her to his house.
The maternal uncle of the child, a cab driver by profession, rushed from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar after hearing about the incident. He said, “After raping the child, he damaged her face with a stone and killed her. He then threw her body in a compound wall next to his house hoping no one would identify her or guess he did it.”
When the entire village began searching for the missing child, Khairnar joined the crowd pretending to be innocent. “Before anyone could enter the compound wall, he jumped twice and said there was nothing, so no one needed to check. But after a while, his unusual behaviour was noticed and the police caught him. The body was found around 7.30pm. On the way to the police station, he accepted the crime and explained the entire crime he committed,” he said.
At the time of the incident, the child’s mother, , her one-year-old sister, aunt and grandparents were inside the house. Her father, a photographer, had gone out for work, while her uncle was in Pune for a function.
“She was the elder daughter of 3.5 years. She always used to play with her toys. We could never imagine in our wildest dreams this could happen,” the mother said.
The accused was scheduled to be produced in court on Thursday, but police deferred it due to the swelling crowd. “He was supposed to be produced yesterday but seeing the public crowd, police couldn’t take him inside court. He was produced today,” the police said.
Protesters rammed the court gate on Friday and broke it, forcing police to resort to lathi charge.
The incident has sparked statewide outrage. Ministers including Girish Mahajan, Minister of Water Resources of Maharashtra and Dadaji Bhuse, Minister of School Education of Maharashtra visited the family on Friday.
The All India Janavadi Mahila Sanghatana condemned the crime, calling it a reflection of entrenched patriarchal attitudes and systemic failures. “The culprit must be severely punished,” the organisation said in a statement. “The fact that the accused dares to commit such horrific atrocities on a young girl so easily means that criminals have no fear of the police, administration and judiciary. This reality is very serious.”
The statement also criticised the government’s inefficiency in ensuring women’s safety. “After a crime is committed, the rulers make such accusations that they will not spare the accused, no matter who it is. But in reality, the rate of investigation and punishment is very low,” it said, citing similar cases in Phaltan, Pune, and Badlapur.
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshvardhan Sapkal demanded a fast-track trial and death penalty for the accused. “The incident of a three-year-old girl being sexually assaulted and murdered in Malegaon is outrageous and very serious. Criminals no longer fear the law in the state,” Mr. Sapkal said. “The state needs a strong and determined Home Minister. Devendra Fadnavis is an ineffective, passive and most inefficient Home Minister.”
Narhari Zirwal, Minister for Food and Drugs Administration of Maharashtra also visited the family accompanied by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil and said, “The accused will be given the harshest punishment for the crime. This is a horrific crime. I will raise this matter in the Cabinet. The accused will be tried in a fast-track court and efforts will be made to secure the death sentence within two months. I would request the government to appoint senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as the public prosecutor in the sensitive case.”
Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad criticised the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government over the incident and said that the rising number of crimes show that women and young girls were not safe in the state. “CM Fadnavis should relinquish the charge of the home department and appoint a full-time home minister. I demand strictest punishment of the accused.”
Published – November 21, 2025 10:22 pm IST
