The Anatomy of a Death Sentence: Inside the Evidence and Judicial Reasoning that Sent Bhimrao Kamble to the Gallows

Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 29th June 2026: While the sentencing of Bhimrao Prabhakar Kamble made immediate headlines, the legal backbone of the 124-page judgment reveals a meticulous orchestration of medical, electronic, and forensic evidence.

Facing a case built entirely on circumstantial evidence and the “last seen together” theory, Special Judge S.R. Salunkhe relied on scientific precision to establish absolute certainty of guilt before executing the complex balancing tests required to impose capital punishment.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the evidentiary record and the judicial reasoning that sealed Kamble’s fate.

Part I: The Evidentiary Record
Because there were no eyewitnesses to the actual assault inside the tin-sheet shed, the prosecution had to establish a chain of circumstances so complete that it excluded any other hypothesis except the guilt of the accused. This was achieved through three primary pillars of proof:

1. The Auditory and Visual Electronic Trail
The prosecution presented unbroken CCTV footage captured from nearby properties, including the residence of Yogesh Jangam.
The Chronology: At 3:12 PM, CCTV footage showed the accused holding the hand of the three-year-old victim and walking her toward the secluded tin-sheet shed. At 3:51 PM, the accused was seen exiting the shed area alone. This established a precise 39-minute window during which the crime occurred.

The Audio Corroboration: Most crucially, the CCTV system covering the area was equipped with audio-video recording. When the files were analyzed by Cyber Experts Nachiket Dandekar and Pranav Palange and played in court, the child’s last scream and the sound of children pelting stones at the tin roof (trying to retaliate against the accused who had chased them away earlier) were clearly audible.

Hash-Value Integrity: To prevent the defence from claiming the digital evidence was tampered with, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) secured immediate hash-value certificates and Section 63(4)(c) BSA electronic evidence certifications for all DVRs and memory cards.

2. Irrefutable DNA and Forensic Profiling
Varsha Deshmukh, Chemical Analyzer at the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL) in Pune, provided the scientific lock on the case:
The Struggle (Nail Clippings): The victim’s nail clippings yielded a mixed DNA profile containing genetic material from both the victim and the accused. This proved that the three-year-old child had clawed and struggled against Kamble.

The Murder Weapon (The Leggings): The dark-blue leggings stuffed into the child’s throat to silence her (Article ‘F’) contained semen stains and blood mixed with saliva. The DNA profile matched the accused’s control blood sample at a 100% match rate.

The Physical Contact (Footprint Match): Forensic analysis revealed a clear footprint of the child’s small foot on the shirt worn by the accused at the time of his arrest, indicating she had kicked him during the assault.

3. Medical Proof of Brutality and Postmortem Assault
The postmortem conducted by Dr. Harish Tatiya of Sassoon Hospital, Pune, proved that the crime was executed with animalistic savagery:
Forceful Suffocation: The cause of death was asphyxia due to the combined effects of smothering and gagging. The child’s own leggings had been crammed 21 centimeters deep into her mouth, blocking her internal air inlets.

18 Fresh Injuries: The child’s body bore 18 external wounds, including contusions and contused abrasions on her nose, lips, forehead, chin, and chest. Dr. Tatiya testified that these resulted from forceful impact by a closed fist, elbow, or knees of an average adult.

Postmortem Penetration: The medical examiner noted dilated anal and vaginal cavities with fresh mucosal deep lacerations and hemorrhages. Crucially, the urology and forensic experts testified that the severe injuries to her private parts and anus continued to be inflicted even after her death, proving postmortem sexual assault.

Part II: Why the Court Imposed the Death Penalty

In India, under the Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab precedent, a court must balance the aggravating circumstances of the crime against the mitigating circumstances of the criminal before opting for the death penalty.

1. The “Crime Test” vs. “Criminal Test”
Under the Shankar Khade guidelines, the court applied three distinct tests: the Crime Test (how heinous the act was), the Criminal Test (whether there are mitigating circumstances for the offender), and the Rarest of Rare Test.

The Crime Test (100% satisfied): The victim was defensive, extremely tender in age (3 years), and lured under the pretext of showing her a newborn calf. The manner of murder (stuffing cloth 21 cm deep) and the subsequent postmortem sexual mutilation shocked the judicial conscience.

The Criminal Test (0% mitigation): There were absolutely no mitigating circumstances.

2. Rejection of the Accused’s Age as a Mitigating Factor
The defence argued that the accused was an old man of 65 years and deserved mercy on those grounds. Judge Salunkhe strongly rejected this, declaring his age to be an aggravating factor instead:

“The only circumstance which could be posed as the mitigating circumstance is the age of the accused as he is 65 years of age. According to me, this cannot be taken as mitigating circumstance, rather it would be the aggravating circumstance. The thirst for lust of the accused is not extinguished even at such age. Rather, it has reached a very dangerous stage.”

3. Habitual Deviancy and the “Fearless” Offender
The prosecution placed on record Kamble’s prior criminal antecedents:
He was prosecuted in 1998 for outraging the modesty of an old lady.

He was prosecuted in 2015 under Sessions Case No. 342/2015 for attempting to rape a 17-year-old relative at sickle-point.

Though he was acquitted in both cases due to witness inconsistencies, the court observed that these past acquittals had made him fearless of the law. He believed that even if prosecuted, nothing would happen in court.

Furthermore, witness Eknath Kamble testified that in 1996, the accused was caught attempting sex with a she-goat. This, combined with his constant misbehavior, had resulted in his expulsion from his native village of Salvade and his own family. His wife, seven daughters, and son refused to stand by him.

4:Absolute Impossibility of Reformation
The court called for a Home Study Report from the Probation Officer and a Conduct Report from the jail authorities. The reports were heavily adverse. The court concluded that the accused has passed the stage of reformation, possesses no remorse (remaining silent when asked what his punishment should be), and poses a permanent, active menace to society.

Conclusion: Meeting the “Rarest of Rare” Threshold
Judge Salunkhe concluded that the sheer brutality of the crime, the tender and helpless age of the victim, and the complete absence of reformative potential in the offender foreclosed any alternative to the death penalty.

To award a lesser sentence like life imprisonment would, in the court’s view, make the law a farce and fail to reflect the collective indignation of society, which had previously taken to the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway with the child’s body to demand justice.

The court ordered that Bhimrao Kamble be hanged by the neck till death, and directed the record to be sent immediately to the Bombay High Court for confirmation of the capital sentence.