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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 8:56:24 pm

Man gets death for minor’s rape, murder

Mumbai | Nashik: A Nashik Special Fast Track Court has awarded the death sentence to a 25-year old man who was convicted last week for luring a 4-year-old girl with a chocolate, kidnapping, raping and murdering her, here on Friday. Terming the case as the ‘rarest of rare’ crimes, the Special Judge K. D. Paldewar – who had found Vijay Sanjay Khairnar guilty of kidnap, sexual assault and murdering the child on Sep. 30 but reserved the verdict after the final arguments on Oct. 7 – pronounced the...

Man gets death for minor’s rape, murder

Mumbai | Nashik: A Nashik Special Fast Track Court has awarded the death sentence to a 25-year old man who was convicted last week for luring a 4-year-old girl with a chocolate, kidnapping, raping and murdering her, here on Friday. Terming the case as the ‘rarest of rare’ crimes, the Special Judge K. D. Paldewar – who had found Vijay Sanjay Khairnar guilty of kidnap, sexual assault and murdering the child on Sep. 30 but reserved the verdict after the final arguments on Oct. 7 – pronounced the capital punishment today. He also slapped a fine of Rs 10 lakhs as compensation to the victim’s family, hailing from Dongrale village before a packed courtroom where the villagers, the victim’s family and others were present. Emerging from the courtroom after the verdict, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the media that “the Court had considered the gravity of the crime and the circumstantial evidence establishing Khairnar’s involvement” while deciding the sentence. The Court did not take into account the convict’s poverty – he was a daily wager – or illiteracy as grounds for leniency, added the ace criminal lawyer. It was on Nov. 16, 2025 in Dongrale village of Malegaon taluka when Khairnar lured the little girl on the promise of giving her a chocolate and took her to a desolate spot to carry out his devious plans. Betraying the trust of the child who used to call him ‘dada’ (elder brother) due to their acquaintance, Khairnar sexually assaulted her, killed her and abandoned her before decamping from there. A few hours later, the child’s body was found dumped in a nullah and the police were summoned. As details of the gruesome crime tumbled out and spread, it ignited widespread public outrage all over the state. The police swung into action, formed several probe teams and managed to track down Khairnar from his hideout within a few hours. Considering the sensitivity of the crime, the strong emotions plus the mass furore it created, the state government assigned the case to a fast-track court, assigned Nikam as the SPP and the matter was heard speedily. The SPP aggressively led the prosecution, arguing in the court that in view of the gravity of the crime, the circumstances leading to it and other aspects, it warranted the severest punishment – death – for Khairnar, irrespective of his age or financial status. The Dongrale villagers stood in solidarity with the victim’s family and they raised a chorus for quick investigations, an expeditious trial and slapping the death penalty on the convict to serve as a strong deterrent to potential offenders. As per the Indian law, the trial court’s verdict will now go to the Bombay High Court for confirmation. Political leaders from different parties hailed the court verdict and said “justice has finally been done to the victim’s family”.

‘All eight victims from minority’

Quaid Najmi
Apr 17
3 min read

Mumbai: The alleged sensational sex scandal in Amravati took a political turn with the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission (MSMC) rubbishing what it termed as ‘grossly exaggerated’ claims about the number of suspected victims and their videos circulating on the sordid incident.


MSMC Chairman Pyare Khan said a fact-finding team sent to Amravati has completed its probe and found “there are only eight victims”, including a couple of minors, all belonging to the minority community.


“There are merely six to eight videos linked to these victims and around a dozen other photographs that are found. The claims of 180 girls or their video are absolutely baseless. The former MP Navneet Kaur Rana and others are spreading blatant falsehoods, to foment communal disturbances,” an irked Khan told ‘The Perfect Voice’.


Police Version

Amravati (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vishal Anand categorically stated on Thursday that the investigations so far have identified a limited number of victims and digital evidence. He emphasized that forensic analysis of the devices seized from the two accused have not indicated any large-scale circulation as being claimed in certain quarters.


Anand further urged citizens and political leaders to refrain from sharing unverified content, warning that these actions could hamper the investigation and disturb public peace. A SIT is working on digital forensics, support for the victims, and tracking other potential suspects, while assuring that stringent legal action will be taken against those found guilty as well as against individuals spreading rumours.


Probe Report

To a query, Khan stated that MSMC’s preliminary report will be submitted directly to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for further action, maintaining that its findings corroborate the conclusions of the Amravati Rural Police.


“Our priority is to ensure justice for the victims and maintain communal harmony,” he asserted.


Slamming irresponsible political statements, Khan said on one hand, PM Modi and Fadnavis are working for women’s upliftment but on the other their efforts are being negated by certain elements who malign women and disturb harmony.


Initial reports pointed to a much larger network with over 180 victims and 350-plus sleaze videos of the girls that led to protests and communal tensions, which turned out to be exaggerated.


The delicate situation had escalated briefly, with reports of unrest but the local police stepped in and prevented any flare-up, as the ongoing investigations indicated that though the case of sexual exploitation was indeed serious.


NCW Directions

Taking suo motu cognisance of the case, the National Commission for Women on Friday directed the state’s DGP to conduct a time-bound probe into the matter. An Action Taken Report has been sought from the state police within five days.


The arrested accused

The Amravati Police have so far arrested at least eight alleged perpetrators including a collegian Ayan A. Tanveer Ahmed, 19, reportedly the kingpin who is a former social media handler of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). His associates include: Uzer Khan, 20, Tabrez Khan, 20, Mohammed Shad, 22, Manav Deepak Sugandhe, 20, Aifaz Mansur Khan, 26, Iram Mohammed Sajid, 21, Shaikh Naved Hassan, 21. POCSO charges have been added by the police.

A place ostensibly used to lure the victims has been sealed and other punitive action taken against some of the accused, including bulldozing a portion of a building used for the illegal activities.



"There is no need for leaders like Navneet Rana in the BJP, which follows the motto of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. Hence, she should be expelled from the party. I will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah with this demand."

Pyare Khan, Chief, Maharashtra State Minorities Commission

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