Fugitive Rape-Murder Accused Strangles Second Child In Broad Daylight In Thane
Thane police arrest fugitive accused of alleged rape and murder of seven-year-old girl.
A powerloom worker, who had been on the run in a rape and murder case involving a six-year-old girl, allegedly sexually assaulted and killed another child in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Saturday. The police have arrested the 33-year-old man in connection with the incident.
The incident, reported on October 1, has ignited outrage in the densely populated industrial suburb, where child safety remains a pressing concern amid rapid urbanisation and overburdened law enforcement. The victim, a neighbour of the accused, had stepped out alone to relieve herself, carrying a small bucket, but never returned home. Her frantic parents searched the vicinity and discovered the bucket outside the suspect's locked residence. Breaking down the door, they uncovered the girl's lifeless body concealed in the sack, her neck bearing ligature marks consistent with strangulation.
The accused, who had surreptitiously returned to the neighbourhood days earlier, exploited the child's vulnerability in broad daylight. Bhiwandi, home to over 700,000 residents and a hub for textile mills, has seen sporadic spikes in crimes against minors, with Thane district reporting 156 POCSO cases in 2024 alone, per National Crime Records Bureau data.
This is not the perpetrator's first offence. In 2023, he was arrested for the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in the same district, leading to his incarceration in Thane Central Jail. However, he escaped custody during a court transit in August 2025, vanishing into the shadows despite an active manhunt.
His recapture underscores the perils of judicial logistics in India, where over 1,200 custodial escapes were logged nationwide from 2020 to 2024, according to Ministry of Home Affairs figures. Local police have invoked sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for murder and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, with forensic teams processing the scene for DNA evidence to build an airtight case.
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The tragedy has prompted swift community backlash, with residents in Bhiwandi blocking roads and demanding enhanced surveillance, including more CCTV installations and neighbourhood watches. Women's rights activists and child welfare groups, including the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, have called for a thorough review of escape protocols and faster trials under POCSO's fast-track courts.
As the accused faces potential life imprisonment or the death penalty—invoked in 15% of aggravated child assault convictions since 2012—the incident serves as a grim reminder of the vulnerabilities faced by young girls in low-income urban fringes. Investigations continue, with police vowing to unearth any accomplices or patterns in the suspect's movements to prevent further horrors.
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