Broken Trust

The rape and murder of a four-year-old child is not merely a crime but the collapse of the most basic covenant that binds a society together. When such brutality is inflicted upon someone so young, so defenceless, the usual language of law and order feels woefully inadequate. The shocking rape and murder of a four-year-old Pune has rattled Maharashtra. Such was the grief and anger that hundreds of protestors blocked the Mumbai–Bengaluru highway for hours.

The child’s body, placed on the road by her family, turned private anguish into public accusation by alleging that a society that cannot protect its children is one that has lost its moral bearings.

The accused, a 65-year-old man from a neighbouring village, allegedly lured the child to a cattle enclosure, sexually assaulted her and killed her with a stone. The police say he had a history of sexual offences that either collapsed or were withdrawn. This detail, easily lost in the churn of daily news, is perhaps the most damning. It points not merely to individual depravity but to institutional amnesia.

India is no stranger to public fury over sexual violence. Each high-profile case produces a familiar cycle of horror, protest, political promises and eventually, a quiet return to normalcy. In Pune, the official response followed this script with striking speed. While senior leaders of the ruling Mahayuti have assured the victim’s family of a fast-tracked trial, a watertight investigation and even the pursuit of the death penalty, such declarations are politically understandable in signalling resolve. But they also risk reducing justice to a question of speed and severity alone.

The emphasis on capital punishment, in particular, deserves scrutiny. While it may satisfy a collective desire for retribution, its deterrent value remains uncertain. More importantly, it diverts attention from a harder question: how was a repeat offender able to remain within reach of potential victims? Booked for molestation in 1998 and again in 2015, the accused slipped through the cracks of a system that did not merely fail to punish but failed to remember.

India’s criminal justice apparatus is often reactive rather than preventive. While records exist, they are seldom integrated into a coherent framework that flags repeat offenders or monitors high-risk individuals. In cases involving children, these weaknesses are magnified by silence. Often, one finds families withdrawing complaints, communities prioritising reputation over justice or victims too young to speak for themselves.

What is required is not another burst of anger but a sustained, systemic response. This means taking past offences seriously and closer monitoring of patterns of behaviour, particularly in crimes of a sexual nature. Better tracking, closer supervision and community-level vigilance could help prevent escalation. Policing must become more consistent, with greater emphasis on forensic rigour and victim support rather than mere case closure.

Conversations about safety, consent and vigilance must move from the margins to the mainstream, even when they are uncomfortable.