12-yr-old girl murdered in Thane: Main accused arrested; 3 held so far

The body was identified by the girl's parents, who had lodged a missing person complaint at Kolsewadi police station in Kalyan on Monday evening after searching her for several hours.

Thane: Police on Wednesday arrested the "main accused" in the case of kidnapping and murder of a 12-year-old girl in Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said.

The "third wife" of the prime accused and one more person have also been arrested in connection with the crime, they said.

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

The girl was kidnapped at around 4 pm on Monday when she was playing outside her house at Kolsewadi in Kalyan town, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-III Kalyan) Atul Zende told reporters. The body was found near the wall of a graveyard at Bapgaon near Bhiwandi at about 10 am on Tuesday, he said.

The motive behind the murder was not yet clear.

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.

The main accused, identified as Vishal Gawli, was apprehended from Shegaon in Buldhana district on Wednesday morning, Zende said.

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

The police were examining various CCTV footages and also investigating if more persons were involved in the crime, he said, adding the probe into the case was being conducted from all angles.

Gawli was a resident of Kolsewadi and earlier also some criminal cases, including of 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 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 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.