Two sentenced to death by a Rajasthan court for raping and burning a minor girl alive

JAIPUR: A POCSO court in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara on Monday awarded death penalty to two men for raping and burning alive a 14-year-old girl in a coal furnace in August last year.

“Kalu and Kanha were sentenced to death by the court,” said special public prosecutor Mahaveer Singh Kishnawat.

The court convicted the two on Saturday for the crime committed in August last year.

Seven other people accused of destroying evidence were acquitted by the court. Kishnawat said the acquittal would be appealed to the Supreme Court.

The victim’s mother welcomed the court’s decision, saying that she received justice and was satisfied with the sentence.

Former Prime Minister Ashok Gehlot said his government took immediate action against the accused and arrested them.

“At that time, ADG Crime was dispatched to the scene and the case was taken up under the Case Officer Scheme. The indictment in this case was filed within about a month. Today, within about 10 months, these perpetrators have been convicted,” he said.

The girl went missing on August 2 last year when she went to graze cattle.

The two men raped her and then beat her with sticks. Thinking she was dead, they threw her into a coal furnace.

In total there were five ovens in a row and one of them, contrary to usual practice, was operated without a complete cover.

Locals discovered the girl’s bracelet there, following which the bones were recovered from the spot.