Pune: Police on Sunday issued a clarification over the use of force during a protest linked to the Nasrapur assault case, where a four-year-old was raped and murdered. Officials said a “mild lathi-charge” was carried out to disperse a crowd after a key highway remained blocked for hours, causing severe disruption.

The protest took place on Saturday evening at the Navale Bridge on the Katraj Dehu-Road bypass section of Mumbai–Bengaluru National Highway. According to police, the road remained blocked for nearly four hours, leading to a massive traffic jam stretching up to 15 kilometres on both sides. Thousands of commuters, including women and children, were stranded. Ambulances were also caught in the congestion.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 3) Sambhaji Kadam said the police had been in constant touch with the victim’s family throughout the day. The family had been given a written assurance by the administration and wanted to end the protest, as they were exhausted.

Senior officials, including Pune City Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar, spoke to protesters multiple times. However, some individuals refused to withdraw and continued blocking the road. Police said the victim’s family was safely escorted from the site, and the girl’s body was later transported in an ambulance under police protection for the last rites.

Despite repeated appeals, a section of protesters remained adamant. Police then used mild force to clear the road and restore traffic movement. Officials stressed that the action was taken with restraint and only after prolonged efforts to resolve the situation peacefully.

A video showing the lathi-charge had circulated widely on social media, prompting criticism and raising questions over police action. In response, authorities released a detailed statement explaining the sequence of events.

Police also said the Nasrapur case is highly sensitive and is being investigated by the Pune Rural Police Force. They assured us that efforts are being made to ensure strict punishment for the accused. The victim’s family has been kept informed during the investigation.

The police appealed to citizens to remain calm and trust the legal process. They said maintaining law and order, while ensuring justice for the victim, remains their priority.

Mumbai: In a shocking incident, a 78-year-old woman was brutally murdered in Bandra East, and the Kherwadi police solved the case within 24 hours, arresting the accused from Thane. The victim, identified as Saubhagyamma Kathimyunar, a resident of Dharavi, was found unconscious on a footpath near an RNA building in Bandra East on April 27.

She was rushed to Sion Hospital, where doctors declared her dead before admission. Initially, the case was registered as an accidental death.

However, the post-mortem report revealed that the woman had been strangled and assaulted with a blunt object, prompting police to register a murder case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). 

During the investigation, police examined CCTV footage and tracked a suspect seen near the crime scene. The accused, identified as Bhanudas Vitthal Kamble (44), was later arrested from Thane. According to police, the incident occurred on the night of April 26.

The accused had come to Bandra for a function and was urinating on the roadside when the elderly woman objected and abused him. Enraged, he picked up a brick and hit her on the head. When she continued shouting, he strangled her, killing her on the spot. 

The accused later fled the scene but was traced using CCTV footage and local intelligence inputs. He has confessed to the crime and is currently in police custody. 

Mumbai: The Charkop police have arrested a woman wanted in a fraud case linked to a Kandivali-based overseas education consultancy accused of cheating students by promising admissions abroad.

The arrested accused, Shraddha Vitthal Gadekar, had been absconding for five months. The firm owners, Stella Rakesh Mehta and Rakesh Mehta, are co-accused and remain at large.

Police said similar cases have also been registered against the couple in Mumbai and Thane. According to the complaint filed by Kandivali resident Dr Nehal Joshi, he approached the consultancy, Career and Options, for his daughter’s admission to a Master of Trade and Logistics course at Wittenborg University in the Netherlands.

Police said the accused assured the family of admission and asked them to transfer fees to the firm’s account. Joshi later obtained an education loan and transferred over ₹10 lakh.

However, the university informed the family that no payment had been received. The accused later shut their office and fled. Gadekar was produced before a Borivali court, while police are searching for the other accused.