A special POCSO court in Pune on June 29 sentenced a 65-year-old man named Bhimrao Prabhakar Kamble to death for the rape and murder of a three-year-old girl [State of Maharashtra v. Bhimrao Prabhakar Kamble].

Judge SR Salunkhe passed the ruling, while observing that it was time for courts to enforce strict laws enacted by the legislature in letter and spirit.

“The deterrence shall not remain on paper, it shall reflect from the field. The judicial conscience of this Court leads to the irresistible conclusion that the only punishment the accused can deserve is the death sentence,” the judge held. 

The crime occurred on May 1, 2026, in Pune. The three-year-old victim was visiting her maternal grandmother during school holidays, at a house within the premises of Shriram temple. 

Kamble was accused of luring the girl away from the temple with the promise of snacks and showing her a newborn calf. The prosecution alleged that Kamble took the child to a cowshed nearby, sexually assaulted her and killed her, before attempting to conceal her body in the shed. 

Kamble had been expelled from his own village for misconduct and was working as a daily-wage labourer at the temple premises for a renovation project. 

He was also maintaining the cow shed, where he had previously stored his belongings in an adjacent tin-sheet shed.

The criminal case was registered, tried, and sentenced within less than two months of the offence, a timeline the court itself acknowledged as exceptional.

On June 25, the trial court found Kamble guilty under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

These included death penalty-eligible offences under Section 103(1) (murder), and Section 65(2) (rape of a child below 12 years), of the BNS and Section 6 of the POCSO Act (aggravated penetrative sexual assault resulting in death).

The court relied on CCTV footage showing the Kamble taking the victim towards the cow shed area and returning alone, and held that he offered no plausible explanation for it.

While imposing the death penalty on Kamble, the judge remarked that even after cases such as Nirbhaya, Kathua and Unnao, crimes against children had not abated. 

Expressing its anguish, the court noted that the evidence presented by the prosecution included the child’s last scream recorded on an audio-visual CCTV camera and 18 injuries on her small body.

Referring to CCTV footage of the victim accompanying Kamble, the Court commented,

"This Court shall perceive by its senses that CCTV footage wherein that innocent child walks her small steps happily with the accused reposing trust on him. She was eager to see the beauty of new life (calf). She was however unaware that it is going to cost her own life and it was her last journey in her life. The Court shall perceive by its senses the feelings of the parents of the victim standing at the door of the Court waiting for justice to her beloved daughter."

The judgement also took note of the public outrage in this case, including a highway blockade with the victim’s body, as indicative of how the collective conscience of society is shaken by such offences. 

The court praised the police as well for its prompt and efficient investigation, noting that unlike ordinary criminal cases marked by delay and weak probes, the charge-sheet was filed within 16 days of the offence and the trial was concluded swiftly thereafter.

The court concluded the present case fell within the ‘rarest of rare’ category considering the victim was a helpless three-year-old child. 

“The crime was cruel, diabolical, brutal, depraved and gruesome nature. The conduct disqualifies him to think of his reform or rehabilitation and he has projected himself as a menace to society. The crime was unprovoked and was premeditated,” the judge said. 

The court added that the convict's age of 65 years, rather than operating as a mitigating factor, was an aggravating factor. 

"The thirst for lust of the accused is not extinguished even at such age. Rather, it has reached to a very dangerous stage," the judge wrote. 

The court had earlier called for a home study report from the probation officer and a conduct report from the jail authorities. However, nothing favourable emerged and even the convict's own family did not come forward in his support.

Special public prosecutor Ajay Misar appeared for the State of Maharashtra.

Advocate Himmatrao Suryawanshi appeared for Kamble.

[Read judgement]