Man sentenced to death for rape, murder of 2-year-old girl

 

By Sagaya Fernando | June 4, 2025

 

Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA: A man has been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a two-year-old girl in rural Maharashtra, following a rapid investigation by Pune Rural Police that led to his arrest within 48 hours of the crime.

 

The crime occurred on February 15, 2021, when a 25-year-old daily-wage labourer left his home in a remote village of Pune district at around 9 am for work. At home were his wife, two daughters aged three and two, and a two-month-old son. His mother had gone to a nearby lake to fish.

 

Around noon, the father received a call from a local villager alerting him that his two-year-old daughter was missing. A large-scale search operation involving officers from eight villages was immediately launched.

 

Key leads emerged when a rickshaw driver informed police he had transported a man and a young girl matching the victim’s description. A local woman confirmed seeing the man walking with the child toward another village.

 

The following day, the girl’s body was discovered in a cement pipe near a bridge connecting two villages. A post-mortem examination confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted and murdered. The case, initially registered as a kidnapping, was updated to include rape, murder, and destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

 

Then-Superintendent of Police Abhinav Deshmukh formed eight investigative teams. Officers scoured over a dozen villages and remote hamlets, many of which lacked motorable roads. Working from technical surveillance and on-the-ground intelligence, police tracked the suspect to a brick kiln on the outskirts of Nate village in Mahad taluka, Raigad district.

 

The suspect, Sanjay Baban Katkar, 38, a labourer, was found hiding in a hut near the kiln. He initially denied any involvement, but confessed after sustained questioning. He led police to where he had dumped the girl’s body and his bloodstained jacket.

 

During a fast-tracked trial in a Special POCSO Court, the prosecution presented testimony from 16 witnesses, supported by forensic and DNA evidence. 

 

In February 2022, the court convicted Katkar and sentenced him to death under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, which mandates strict penalties for aggravated sexual assault against minors.

 

The case remains a stark reminder of the risks faced by children in vulnerable communities — and an example of swift, coordinated police action in delivering justice.