A charge sheet would be filed against the accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl in Ahmednagar’s Kopardi village within 30 days, said Police Commissioner of Pune Rashmi Shukla on Wednesday.
“I have asked the Superintendent of Police (Ahmednagar) to file the charge sheet within 30 days so as to ensure that the trial of the three accused commenced in the fast track court at the earliest,” said Ms. Shukla, who has been appointed ‘special woman officer’ and is heading the inquiry into the crime which has sent shockwaves across Maharashtra.
She visited Kopardi in the afternoon and conferred with the bereaved kin of the victim.
The minor’s grisly rape and murder, and the subsequent discovery of her mutilated body which indicated the limits of violence pushed to gratuitous excess, has the powerful and influential Maratha community up in a furore as they organised shutdowns and protests across the State demanding speedy justice for the victim.
With an atmosphere of fear pervading Ahmednagar, the attendance levels in schools in the aftermath of the chilling crime has sharply dipped, say district education authorities.
To forestall fear among girl students, Ms. Shukla visited the school where the victim was studying in a bid to assuage the students there.
As part of confidence-building measures, she said a police help centre would be set up in Karjat Tehsil shortly.
Earlier, veteran anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare on Tuesday demanded the death penalty for the accused in the crime which is being likened to the 2012 Nirbhaya rape case in the extent of its brutality.
