Wakad Police Arrests Accused in Horrific Abduction and Murder of Minor in Pimpri-Chinchwad; POCSO Act and IPC Sections Invoked
Pimpri Chinchwad, 26th February 2024: A disturbing event unfolded in the city of Pimpri-Chinchwad involving the abduction, sexual assault, and tragic killing of an eight-year-old child. The accused, hailing from another state, has been apprehended by the Wakad Police Station. The incident occurred between 6 and 8 pm on Saturday (24th), with the minor being forcibly taken to the Pashan area of Pune. Subsequently, the innocent child was subjected to torment and ultimately strangled to death. The details of this incident surfaced on Sunday (25th).
The young victim, identified as Saliman Radheshyam Barde (8 years old, residing on Pink City Road, Wakad), became the centre of a tragic incident. Radhesham Raisingh Barde (33 years old, residing in Wakad, originally from Barwani, Madhya Pradesh), the child’s guardian, filed a complaint at the Wakad police station. Pawan Jageshwar Prasad Pandey (28 years old, residing in Bavdhan, originally from Chitrakut, Uttar Pradesh) is implicated in this case. The accused has been arrested and charged under Sections 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) and Sections 302, 364, 365, 367, 368, 377, and 201 of the IPC.
As per the police investigation, the complainant’s son and the accused had been acquainted for the past three days. Pandey was employed at a Sugarcane Juice Centre in Wakad, and on Saturday evening, some children, including the complainant’s eight-year-old son, were playing in front of the establishment. Pandey developed a relationship with the complainant’s son while serving juice to the children, and they got to know each other during the interaction. Exploiting this familiarity, the accused took advantage of the situation and kidnapped the complainant’s son on Saturday.
The complainant urgently approached the Wakad Police Station, filing a report about the boy’s disappearance. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the police initiated an immediate search for the missing child. Utilizing CCTV footage in the vicinity, law enforcement detained the accused. Subsequent thorough interrogation revealed that the boy had been abducted and transported to a service road along the Mumbai-Bangalore highway in Pune’s Pashan area. The accused confessed to subjecting the child to torture and strangulation at that location. Wakad Police promptly arrested the accused, and Assistant Police Inspector Nalawade is overseeing the ongoing investigation.
The father of the deceased boy is employed in a brick furnace, and the family’s living conditions are dire. The unfortunate victim had not been attending school and would spend his evenings playing near the Sugarcane Juice Center. When the police located the accused, he was intoxicated and making preparations to flee from the city.
The operation was carried out under the guidance and leadership of Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissioner Vinay Kumar Choubey, with the support of Additional Police Commissioner Vasant Pardeshi, Zone 2 Deputy Commissioner of Police Bapu Bangar, and Assistant Commissioner of Police of Wakad Division Dr Vishal Hire. The operational team included key members such as Police Inspector Vitthal Salunkhe, Inspector of Police (Crime) Ravikiran Nale, Assistant Inspector of Police Nilesh Nalavade, Sub-Inspectors of Police Sachin Chavan, Anirudh Sawarde, Bibhishan Kanherkar, Babajan Inamdar, Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police Rajendra Kale, Police Constables Sandeep Gawari, Vandu Gire, Swapnil Khetle, Vinayak Mhaskar, Atish Jadhav, Pramod Kadam, Atiq Shaikh, Vikrant Chavan, Hanmant Kumbar, along with personnel Prashant Gilbeale, Ramchandra Talpe, Bhaskar Bharti, Ajay Done by Phalle, Vinayak Gharge, Koutanya Kharade, Lamture, Swapnil Lokhande, Ramesh Khedkar, Gyandev Zende, and Sagar Pandit from the Zone 02 Office.
