A three-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and killed by a rape accused who was out on bail in Maharashtra's Raigad district, police said on Thursday.
Adesh Patil (34) abducted the girl from her house when she was asleep with her parents at Vadgaon village in Pen tehsil in the early hours of Wednesday, said a police official.
The victim's family belongs to a tribal community.
Patil took the girl to an isolated place behind a school in the area where he allegedly raped and killed her.
The child was found by her grandmother. She was taken to a government hospital where she was declared brought dead, the police official said.
Patil had been spotted roaming in the area around the same time, so the police suspected his involvement in the heinous crime.
He has several cases registered against him and had secured bail in a rape case only ten days ago, the official said.
Police formed a special team to track him down. He was arrested on Wednesday evening and a court sent him in police custody till January 8 on Thursday, the official said.
A case has been registered against him under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Local people staged a protest in Pen over the incident and called for a shut-down on Thursday.
Maharashtra minister Aditi Tatkare, an MLA from the Raigad district, took to Twitter to ask state home minister Anil Deshmukh to ensure that the accused gets the strictest punishment after a speedy trial.
She also demanded compensation for the victim's family.
