Describing the rape of a four-year-old girl as a "monstrous burial of her dignity in darkness", a court in Maharashtra's Nashik has held that showing leniency to the man convicted of raping and murdering the child would undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system.
Additional Sessions Judge K G Paldewar, in a detailed order, described the crime as "diabolic and barbaric" and ruled that it fell within the "rarest of the rare" category warranting capital punishment.
A fast-track court had on Friday sentenced Vijay Sanjay Khairnar to death for raping and killing the girl in November 2025 in a village in Malegaon taluka of Nashik district.
𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆
"The rape of a minor girl child is nothing but a monstrous burial of her dignity in the darkness. It is a crime against the holy body of a girl child and the soul of the society," the court observed.
The judge said the manner in which the crime was committed and the subsequent disposal of the child's body demonstrated exceptional cruelty.
"There is no justification to sentence the accused to life imprisonment for the rest of his life. The accused may not be a hardened criminal, but the cruel manner in which the present crime was committed and the coldness with which the body of the victim was thrown shocked the collective conscience of the society," the order stated.
The court held that sympathy towards the convict would be misplaced, given the circumstances of the offence.
"When the crime is brutal, shocking the collective conscience of the society, sympathy in any form would be misplaced, and it would shake the public's confidence in the administration of the criminal justice system," the judge observed.
𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀
According to the prosecution, the victim was playing with other children outside her house on November 16, 2025, when Khairnar, a welding and furniture worker, lured her away by offering chocolates.
He subsequently raped and killed the child before dumping her body inside a locked mobile tower compound near his residence.
The prosecution said the girl had been assaulted, struck on the head and strangled using a thin thread known locally as a kardora.
The court noted that the killing was not the result of a sudden quarrel or provocation but was intended to conceal the sexual assault and prevent the victim from identifying the offender.
"A murder committed to destroy the victim of an antecedent crime and to extinguish the evidence of it is the most reprehensible of killings, for it treats the life of the child as an obstacle to be removed," the judge held.
𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁
While determining the sentence, the court considered whether life imprisonment would be an adequate alternative to the death penalty.
It concluded that the extreme cruelty displayed by Khairnar ruled out the possibility of rehabilitation and made a lesser punishment inadequate.
"The nature of the crime and the manner in which it has been committed speaks about its uncommonness. The crime speaks of depravity, degradation and uncommonality. It is diabolic and barbaric," the judge observed.
The court held that the circumstances justified imposing the maximum punishment under the law.
𝗗𝗡𝗔 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹
Special Public Prosecutors Ujjwal Nikam and S K Sonawane led the prosecution, which examined 24 witnesses during the trial.
The prosecution also relied on DNA analysis and other forensic findings linking biological evidence recovered during the investigation to blood-stained clothes seized from Khairnar's residence.
The court convicted him under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including kidnapping, rape, rape causing death, murder and causing the disappearance of evidence.
He was also convicted under Sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
𝗥𝘀 𝟭𝟬 𝗹𝗮𝗸𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀
The court directed that compensation of Rs 10 lakh be paid to the victim's parents under the Maharashtra government's revised Manodhairya Yojana scheme.
The scheme provides financial assistance and rehabilitation support to victims of sexual offences and their families.
The death sentence remains subject to confirmation by the Bombay High Court, as required under criminal procedure.