The class 5 student had turned 11 on August 15.
The man suspected of raping an 11-year-old girl and then strangling her to death with a school tie in Galandewadi village just 100 km from Pune, has been arrested.
Nitin Kadam, 22, was arrested on Saturday night from the neighbouring Nilakhwadi village and has been remanded to police custody till September 2.
The Maharashtra government has announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh to students of the Ashram School in Galandewadi, who helped the police in tracking Kadam.
The victim, a Class 5 student, was usually picked up by her father from her school. On Thursday, he couldn't. So, she started walking back home alone.
The 22-year-old accused, finding the girl walking home alone, dragged her to a nearby sugarcane field where he raped her before choking her to death, the police said.
The class 5 student had turned 11 last week on August 15.
''We searched for her and found her body in the field. She was raped... the police told us he strangled her with the school tie... I want that he be sent to the gallows for this crime," said the victim's father.
Her family and the entire village are at a loss of words. No major crime had ever been committed in their village till this incident. "Criminals don't fear law... they will come after serving five to seven years in jail and who knows they may not do it again?" asked a village elder.