Nagpur: “Please wake up, I will give you Maggi,” cried the inconsolable mother, willing the one-and-a-half-year-old daughter to wake up. But Rashi alias Apeksha, who was brutally murdered by slitting her throat on Saturday, was never going to wake up.As soon as Rashi’s body reached home, her mother Rupali, a police constable and wife of crime journalist Ravikant Kamble, embraced it tightly and started crying loudly. She refused to leave the body until relatives convinced her. The mother hadn’t seen her since Saturday, when she went missing with her grandmother. When she returned home on Monday, she was wrapped in a whit shroud.The heart wrenching scenes at Kamble’s residence at Pawanputra Nagar near Dighori overwhelmed everyone present when the bodies of grandmother Ushabai and Rashi were brought there after the post mortem on Monday afternoon.Women burst into screams as soon as the white cloth covering the bodies was lifted. The screams of grief could be heard from a distance as the entire locality went silent. All the lanes and by-lanes were full of onlookers, who flocked to stand by the family in their moment of grief.Besides the bereaved family’s friends and relatives, many from the media fraternity, social workers, politicians and policemen were present in large numbers. The entire neighbourhood came out to witness the last journey of the deceased, packing surrounding terraces and balconies. Shops and other establishments in the area remained shut.A majority of the neighbours were in shock, anger palpable on their faces. Within a day, the family’s world was destroyed, with two members being brutally wiped out. Tears kept flowing from the grieving father’s eyes as he held the toddler’s body and carried it towards Dighori Ghat for cremation.The inconsolable mother demanded death for the accused, with all other surrounding her endorsing her feelings. The talk mostly revolved around the brutality of accused Ganesh Sahu, who allegedly killed the two for just Rs7,000. The visitors were happy the cops managed to crack the case, otherwise, there could have been a very sensitive situation, as persons with past criminal records would have come under the scanner. Questions were also raised about the growing crime rate and efficiency of the police.Even at Dighori Ghat, a large number of visitors were waiting for the bodies. Policemen under DCP Nilesh Bharne, who cracked the case, maintained strict vigil at both places. Officers from Crime Units 3 and 4 were also present and offered condolences to the departed souls. While the toddler was buried there, the grandmother was cremated as per rituals.Later, MLC Prakash Gajbhiye, former minister Nitin Raut and other dignitaries paid homage to the deceased, and called for a quick trial and capital punishment for the killer.

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