Kalyan girl kidnapping-murder case: Main accused, wife among 3 held

Thane: Police on Wednesday arrested the main accused in the alleged kidnap and murder of a 12-year-old girl from Buldhana district of Maharashtra, a day after her body was found in a village near her hometown Kalyan, officials said.

Police also arrested a third wife of the main accused, Vishal Gawli, and another person.

Gawli had some criminal cases, including property-related offences, registered against him, officials said.

Gawli was nabbed by a team of Kalyan Police from Shegaon while stepping out of a salon after shaving his beard.

"The main accused, Vishal Gawli, was apprehended from Shegaon in Buldhana district on Wednesday morning by Kalyan Police," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-III Kalyan) Atul Zende told reporters.

He was at his in-laws' place in Buldhana. He was nabbed when he was stepping out of a salon after getting his beard shaved in a bid to conceal his identity, he said.

Police said Gawli's third wife Sakshi Gawli and another person were also arrested in connection with the crime.

"Sakshi Gawli, who works in a bank, was arrested on Wednesday. She was produced before a local magistrate, who remanded her in police custody for two days," the police officer said.

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

The motive behind the murder was not clear yet, the officer said, adding that the police have so far interrogated around 10 persons, including the relatives and friends of the accused.

A police official earlier said they were waiting for the postmortem report and if rape is confirmed, other legal sections will be added to the case.

An autorickshaw used in the crime has also been seized by police, he said.

The official said police were examining various CCTV footages and also investigating whether more persons were involved in the crime.

The probe is being conducted from all angles.

Gawli was a resident of Kolsewadi and earlier some criminal cases, including property-related offences, were registered against him, the official said.

"Our priority is to first put the accused behind bars and later take stock of all the cases against him," he said.

Asked if the main accused, who had married three times, was a pervert, the official said a probe was also on in that direction.

The girl's parents had lodged a missing person complaint at Kolsewadi police station in Kalyan on Monday evening after searching for her for several hours.

Police initially registered an FIR under section 137 (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and launched a search to trace the girl.

After the body was found, BNS section 103(1) (murder) was added to the case, Kolsewadi's senior police inspector Ashok Kadam told PTI.

"We are waiting for the postmortem report and if rape is detected, other penal sections will be added to the FIR," Kadam said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of locals with their mouths covered with black cloth took out a protest march in Kolsewadi area of Kalyan (East) and carried banners and placards demanding stringent action against the accused.

Local citizens, most of them women, demanded capital punishment for the accused.

BJP MLA Ravindra Chavan on Wednesday night demanded that the main accused be tried in a fast-track court and handed death sentence.

"The Chief Minister has already clarified that persons with such mentality would be punished. The trial should be conducted in a fast-track court and the accused handed the death sentence. This is also the expectation of the citizens," he told reporters.

Kalyan MP and Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde visited the family of the victim and consoled them.

"This is the most unfortunate incident. The government will take all measures in the court to ensure that the accused gets a death sentence," he said.