Thane Teen's Horrific Rape-Murder: Gawli Couple Ordered to Week-Long Police Custody

Thane (Maharashtra), Dec 26 (NationPress) A Special POCSO Court located in Kalyan has granted police custody of Vishal Gawli and his spouse Sakshi Gawli for a week, extending until January 2, in relation to the suspected rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl who had been missing since Monday, according to officials on Thursday.

The Thane district has been shaken by a shocking sexual crime against the young girl, who left her home to purchase supplies but then went 'missing' until her body was discovered on December 25 (Wednesday).

This incident, occurring nearly five months after the Badlapur sexual assault involving two nursery school girls in August, marks the second case igniting public outrage, with widespread calls for the death penalty for the accused, Vishal Gawli, aged 35, and his wife Sakshi Gawli, aged 25.

Vishal Gawli is accused of abducting the girl from near her residence, forcibly transporting her in an autorickshaw to his home, where he allegedly assaulted, raped, and murdered her before discarding her body near a cemetery in nearby Bhiwandi, approximately 8 km away.

After the girl did not return home for several hours, her family filed a missing persons report, prompting an investigation that pointed suspicion towards the Gawli couple following the discovery of the girl's body.

The Thane Police organized six teams to locate him, but Vishal Gawli had already escaped to Shegaon in the Buldhana district, where his in-laws reside.

He was identified through CCTV footage in a busy restaurant purchasing liquor, and was apprehended by Shegaon police at a local barber shop, where he had gone to alter his appearance.

This morning (December 26), the Kalyan Police, which initiated the case, took Vishal Gawli into custody from Shegaon police, while his wife Sakshi, believed to be an accomplice in this heinous act, was arrested outside their residence in Kalyan late Tuesday.

During police interrogation, Sakshi disclosed that her husband Vishal had committed the crime and concealed the girl's body at their home until her return around 7 p.m. on Monday.

Subsequently, Vishal requested a friend to lend him an autorickshaw, and together with Sakshi, they traveled to the Bapgaon area in Bhiwandi to dispose of the girl’s body in a secluded spot near a cemetery before fleeing the scene.

After being taken into custody by Buldhana Police, Vishal Gawli was transferred to the Kolsewadi police station in Kalyan on Thursday and was presented before a Kalyan Magistrate Court, where the couple was remanded to police custody until January 2.

The police prosecutor stated that they aim to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crime, including how he abducted the victim, the details of the murder, his escape, and the involvement of any other individuals besides his wife, among other aspects of the case.

Initial investigations revealed that Vishal Gawli had a criminal history in sexual offenses, facing three molestation cases involving two women and a minor girl, alongside two assault cases.

Arrested in a POCSO case filed in August 2023, he had been released on bail and had been married three times, with Sakshi being his third wife.

As this case gained political traction, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis contacted the Thane Superintendent of Police, insisting that every effort be made to secure the death penalty for the accused and that the case be expedited to a fast-track court.

Ruling ally Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, whose Lok Sabha constituency encompasses the area of the tragedy, visited the victim's family, promising that the government would ensure the accused faces trial and execution.

The incident has drawn significant criticism from opposition parties, including Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena - UBT, who remarked that Thane, the home district of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has become a breeding ground for horrific crimes against women and young girls.

Earlier on Thursday, numerous relatives of the victim and other women participated in a silent protest outside the police station, demanding the death penalty and refusing to accept the girl's body until the accused faced execution.