Child rape-murder: Hundreds protest on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune; traffic hit

Hundreds of people blocked the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune to protest the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl, leading to traffic disruption on the busy route for about four hours.

The girl’s family members and other demonstrators placed the body on the road in the Navale Bridge area on Saturday (May 2, 2026) evening and demanded stringent punishment for the 65-year-old man arrested in the case.

Several videos surfaced showing a huge traffic jam on the highway.