Rajasthan: POCSO court convicts two people for raping and burning a 14-year-old girl in coal kiln

A POCSO court in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district on Saturday convicted two men of gang-raping and killing a 14-year-old girl by throwing her into a coal furnace in August last year. The court also acquitted seven other defendants who were accused of destroying evidence.

Special public prosecutor Mahaveer Singh Kishnawat said the court would announce the sentence on Monday. He said the acquittal would be appealed. The incident had become a political issue with the BJP, which was then in opposition and targeting the then Congress government for crimes against women.

“The court today found Kalu and Kanha guilty of gang rape and killing the girl. “Seven people, three women and four men, who were accused of destroying evidence were acquitted,” Kishnawat said. In August last year, a 14-year-old girl was murdered and thrown into a coal stove in Kotri police station area, police said.

Kotri now belongs to the newly created Shahpura district. In connection with the incident, the police arrested the two defendants, who belonged to the Kalbelia tribe and were involved in coal production in blast furnaces there, it said.

The girl went missing on August 2 last year when she had gone to graze cattle. The two defendants raped her several times during the night and threw her into a coal stove, the police said. After the gang rape, the accused threw her into the oven, assuming that the victim had died. However, the forensic report showed that the girl was still alive when she was thrown. It was said that she died as a result of burn injuries.

In total, there were five ovens in a row and one of them was operating without a cover, which raised suspicions. The locals discovered a fire in the oven and found the girl’s bracelet. They alerted the police, who later removed her bones from the oven.

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