Two men convicted of raping and murdering a 14-year-old girl in August last year – by burning her alive in a coal furnace – have been sentenced to death by a special court in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara.
Judge Anil Gupta classified the case as the “rarest of the rare” as he delivered the verdict.
The men – brothers, identified as Kalu and Kanha, from the Kaleblia tribe – were found guilty Saturday by a POCSO, or Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, court that also acquitted seven other individuals, including three women, who were accused of destroying evidence.
The acquittal is expected to be challenged in the Rajasthan High Court.
Two of the three women are reportedly married to Kalu and Kanha.
READ | Rajasthan Court Convicts 2, Acquits 7 For Raping Teen, Burning Her
Special Public Prosecutor Mahaveer Singh Kishnawat told reporters, “Kalu and Kanha were awarded death penalty.” On Saturday, he confirmed they had been found guilty of raping and killing the girl.”
The barbaric crime occurred on August 3 last year.
The young girl had taken her family’s cattle herd for grazing when she was sexually assaulted.
This was in the Shahpura area of Kotri tehsil in Bhilwara district.
READ | Cop Suspended, 10 Charged After Girl’s Burnt Body Found
When she did not return home, her family went looking for her. Her brother had said, “We started looking for her in the afternoon when the cattle returned but my sister didn’t return with them.
Hours into the search, at 10 pm, they saw smoke rising from a furnace despite rainfall. When they examined it, they found torn clothes and slippers nearby and alerted the police.
The authorities recovered bones and half-burnt body parts from the furnace, and subsequent forensic investigation of the body parts revealed the young girl may have been burnt alive.
“Forensic examination report suggested the girl was alive before being burnt in the furnace. She could (have been) unconscious but she was alive,” a senior police officer said. The investigation also suggested the girl was knocked unconscious after the rape by hitting her head with a stick.
Stung into action by a wave of political criticism – Rajasthan was then ruled by the Congress, which was attacked by the Bharatiya Janata Party – the police filed a 400+ page chargesheet within 30 days.
NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.
