India, Oct. 16 -- A Malegaon court on Friday sentenced Vijay Khairnar to death for the sexual assault and murder of a four-year-old girl in Dongrale village in Maharashtra's Nashik district in November 2025, with the court terming the crime a 'rarest of rare' case.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the court had considered the gravity of the crime and the circumstantial evidence establishing Khairnar's involvement while deciding the sentence. The court did not consider the convict's poverty and illiteracy as grounds for leniency, he said.

"The prosecution examined 24 witnesses during the trial. The judgment runs into 225 pages. Along with the intensity of the crime, there was circumstantial evidence to establish his involvemen...