Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Palghar man sentenced to death for raping, killing girl
A judge in India gave a very serious punishment for a terrible crime.
A man hurt and killed a nine-year-old girl in 2021.
The girl was going to a shop to buy groceries for her mother when the man tricked her with a 10-rupee coin.
When she tried to run away and call for help, he hurt her very badly and she passed away.
He also hurt a man who stopped to help the girl.
The court heard many witnesses and studied scientific proof, including DNA and the sharp tool that was used.
The judge said the crime was so cruel that it shocked everyone.
He decided the man was guilty and gave him the strongest punishment the law allows — the death penalty.
The court also fined him 75,000 rupees.
This shows that people who harm children face very serious consequences.
A court in Maharashtra's Palghar district sentenced grocer Pramul alias Praffula alias Pramod Ratna Ghoshe, described as 51 and also 46 years old in the report, to death for raping and hacking a nine-year-old girl in 2021.
The Class IV student was lured with a Rs 10 coin on her way to buy groceries and sexually assaulted on September 27, 2021, in Ranshet Vangadpada village, Dahanu taluka.
When the girl ran out shouting she would tell her father, Ghoshe chased her with a 37-centimetre sickle and inflicted about 20 injuries, including a neck wound that severed her spinal cord.
He also attacked eyewitness Vikas Barkya Bholada, who tried to intervene while passing on a motorcycle, wounding his neck and back.
The conviction rested on eyewitness testimony, FSL DNA profiling and recovery of the sickle; he was fined Rs 75,000 and acquitted of one POCSO charge under section 12.
- Who
- Pramul alias Praffula alias Pramod Ratna Ghoshe, a grocer, sentenced by Additional Sessions Judge A R Rahane; the victim was a nine-year-old Class IV girl.
- What
- Ghoshe was sentenced to death for raping and hacking the girl to death and for trying to kill an eyewitness.
- When
- Sentencing on Friday, August 7; the crime occurred on September 27, 2021.
- Where
- Ranshet Vangadpada village, Dahanu taluka, Palghar district, Maharashtra.
- Why
- The court called the crime extremely brutal and heinous, shocking the conscience of the judiciary and society, and found guilt proven by eyewitness evidence, DNA matching and recovery of the murder weapon.
- Accused
- Pramul alias Praffula alias Pramod Ratna Ghoshe, a grocer
- Victim
- A nine-year-old girl, a Class IV student
- Sentence
- Death penalty and fine of Rs 75,000
- Crime date
- September 27, 2021
- Location
- Ranshet Vangadpada village, Dahanu taluka, Palghar district, Maharashtra
- Conviction
- IPC sections 302, 307, 376(2)(j), 376(2)(n), 376AB, 376-A and POCSO Act provisions
- Acquittal
- Section 12 of POCSO Act (sexual harassment via obscene media)
- Key evidence
- Eyewitness testimony, FSL DNA profiling, recovery of the sickle