Malegaon taluka in Nashik district came to a standstill on Friday (November 21, 2025) as thousands of people since morning staged a massive protest outside the Malegaon District Sessions Court demanding justice for a three-and-a-half-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in Dongrale village on November 16. The taluka observed a day long strike.
A senior police officer said, “Today people from 20-25 villages gathered in thousands at the court. Malegaon taluka observed bandh.”
A protestor said, “This was the biggest protest so far and prior to this we held two more protests demanding capital punishment for the accused. We will stage more if justice is not served.”
The accused, identified as Vijay Khairnar, 24, was a daily wager who lived 200 metres away from the child’s house. Police inspector Pritam Chaudhary of the Malegaon Taluka police station said he was arrested the same day. “He confessed to the crime while being taken to the station. We have gotten seven days of police custody. Medical reports have also matched; there is enough evidence against him. The next step is filing the chargesheet. We have not filed it yet as we are still investigating whether he was alone or more people were involved in the crime.”
