Kidnapping-Murder of 12-Year-Old in Kalyan: Rape, POCSO Charges Added to FIR

Thane: Thane Police on Thursday added the offence of rape to the First Information Report in the kidnapping and murder of a 12-year-old girl from Kalyan in the district, officials said.

Vishal Gawli, the main accused who has a past criminal record, was brought here in the morning after police in Maharashtra's Buldhana district nabbed him on Wednesday. Judge V A Patrawale of Kalyan District and Sessions Court remanded him in police custody till January 2, Deputy Commissioner of Police Atul Zende said.

While earlier the police had said the motive behind the murder was not known, the offence of rape and relevant sections under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) were added to the FIR later on Thursday.

The police have already arrested Vishal Gawli's wife Sakshi and another person in connection with the kidnapping and murder of the girl whose body was found in a village near her hometown Kalyan on Tuesday, a day after she went missing.

The Kalyan court on Thursday also extended Sakshi Gawli's police remand till January 2.

Vishal Gawli allegedly abducted the girl with the help of his wife and killed her in Chakki Naka area of Kalyan, police had said earlier, without providing more details.

The couple then allegedly took the body in an autorickshaw to Bapgaon on Kalyan-Padgha road and dumped it there.

To evade police, he fled to Shegaon in Buldhana. He was nabbed by a team of local police while he was stepping out of a salon after shaving off his beard in a bid to conceal his identity, as per officials.

A police official had earlier said they were waiting for the postmortem report, and if rape was confirmed, relevant legal sections will be added. The autorickshaw used in the crime has been seized by police, he said.

Vishal is a resident of Kolsewadi in Kalyan tehsil. Sakshi Gawli, who works in a bank, is his third wife.

The girl was allegedly kidnapped from Kolsewadi on Monday afternoon when she was playing outside her house. The body was found on Tuesday morning at Bapgaon near Bhiwandi in Thane district.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amarsingh Jadhav told reporters that senior officials were closely monitoring the investigation, and police will see to it that the accused receives the maximum possible punishment.

Steps have been initiated for appointing a special public prosecutor and the police will seek trial in a fast-track court, he added.

Additional charges of rape and offences under POCSO Act were added against the accused after the autopsy report was received, he said.

The FIR includes Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita charges under sections 137(2) (kidnapping), 140(1) (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder or for ransom, etc ), 65(2) (rape in certain cases), 66 (causing death or vegetative state of the victim), 103 (murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) along with POCSO offences.

Vishal Gawli, who worked in Dombivli's Manpada area, had eight prior offenses registered against him, DCP Jadhav said.

Asked about reports that Vishal Gawli had claimed to be mentally ill when he was arrested in past cases and presented certificates to prove it, the official said these certificates will be scrutinized.

Chitra Wagh, head of the Maharashtra BJP's women's wing, met the victim's family on Thursday, and later said she would make efforts to secure death penalty for the accused.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has instructed police not to leave any stone unturned in their probe, she added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed.)