Residents demand arrest of suspect in Lonavla rape case

PUNE: The residents of Vadgaon Maval on Friday observed a partial bandh demanding the arrest of the suspect involved in the alleged rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl whose body was found on the terrace of a Lonavla resort.
Over 5,000 residents from Maval, Kamshet, Lonavla, Talegaon Dabhade and Dehu Road took out a silent protest march from Panchvati Maruti temple at 11.30am.This is the third time since the incident that the residents have observed a bandh.
The residents called for a bandh in Lonavla on February 18 after the victim’s body was found on the terrace of Kumar Resort on February 17. Again on February 23, Lonavla witnessed a partial bandh.
The residents held a public meeting at the panchayat samiti chowk and denounced the police for failing to catch the suspect even after 12 days of the incident. They also demanded that the police withdraw the case filed against the residents for allegedly ransacking Kumar Resort under section 395 (dacoity) of the Indian Penal Code.
The victim’s parents, who were also present in the march, wanted the police to expedite investigations and arrest the suspect as soon as possible. A fast track court to expedite the trial and appointment of special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam in the case were the other demands.
The residents later handed over a memorandum listing their demands to Maval tahsildhar Sharad Patil. Patil assured the residents that he will convey their demands to the district collector, Pune and the state government.
A large number of women, representatives of the business community and leaders from political parties participated in the march.
The Pune rural police beefed up bandobast in Maval area to avert any untoward incident.
Additional superintendent of police (Pune rural) Vijaykumar Magar, who was also present, assured the residents that the police were working on clues and was confident that the suspect will be arrested soon. The march concluded at 1pm.
Magar told TOI on phone from Lonavla that the protest march was conducted in a peaceful manner. The business establishments opened after the march.
The girl, a second standard student of a Marathi medium school in Indapur (Talashet) in Raigad district, had gone to the resort with her parents for a family function on February 15 evening. She went missing from the crowded hall around 9.30pm. Her body was found behind the solar panel on the terrace by a scrap vendor. The girl’s throat had been slit with a sharp knife. The postmortem report had revealed that the girl was sexually assaulted.
Security guard takes lie detector test
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Mumbai conducted a lie detector test on the resort’s security guard Ajay Shankar Dhandade on Thursday, said additional superintendent of police (Pune rural) Vijaykumar Magar on Friday. The report from the FSL is awaited.
“We have questioned over 150 people including employees of the resort, guests attending the marriage on February 15 among others. We have spread out teams to trace the people involved in the crime,” said Magar.
The investigation is on the right track and the suspect will be arrested soon, he added.