A 14-year-old girl was allegedly murdered and later burned in a coal furnace in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district, the police said on Thursday as the locals claimed that she was also gang-raped.
The police have detained five people, who work at five coal furnaces in the area, in connection with the incident.
Locals alleged that the girl was gang-raped before she was murdered and thrown into the furnace.
On Wednesday, the teenage girl had gone to graze cattle but did not return home till evening following which the family members started searching for her, the police said.
Later in the night, the family members spotted the girl's footwear near one of the five furnaces. On peeping inside, they found her bangle and a few bones, they said.
Locals caught hold of a few people, suspecting their involvement in the crime, and handed them over to the police, they said.
The detained people who live near the furnaces are being interrogated at the Kotri police station, they said.
SHO of Kotri police station said that there were a total of five furnaces in a row and last night one of them was being operated without being fully covered, contrary to the normal practice.
”The locals spotted a fire in one furnace. Usually, the furnace is fully covered but the furnace was opened from the side. They reached there and found the girl's bangle and some bones,” he said.
He said that barring the crime scene, four other furnaces were demolished today as they were illegally set up on government land.
BJP leader Kalulal Gurjar who reached the village and met the victim's family members, alleged that the girl was raped and her body was burnt in the kiln.
Gurjar alleged that the police did not act promptly in the case and detained the suspected accused only after the villagers caught them.
The police said they have not yet ruled out the possibility of rape in the matter, adding that further probe is on.
Taking cognisance of the matter, Sangeeta Beniwal, chairperson of the Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, formed a three-member committee, which will submit a report to her after collecting facts.
The chairperson also wrote a letter to ADG Civil Rights and SP Bhilwara to send a factual report on the matter.
Meanwhile, the opposition BJP attacked the government over the incident and demanded the resignation of the chief minister.
BJP state president CP Joshi said the incident was gruesome.
”Such an incident would not have happened anywhere in the country. Rajasthan is being tarnished by such incidents. Chief Minister Gehlot should resign,” Joshi said.
A three-member committee formed by Joshi visited the village and talked to the family members as well as the police officers.
The committee members demanded the suspension of Bhilwara SP Adarsh Sidhu alleging that the police were negligent in the matter.
”The family members informed the local police station in the evening that the girl was missing but the police did not take action and asked them to bring documents of the girl to establish she was a minor,” BJP Anita Bhadel said.
She said that when the police did not act, the family members again started looking for the girl and saw fire in one of the furnaces.
”Only a few bones were found from the finances. There was no recovery of the skull or other parts of the skeleton. It is also possible that the accused cut the body into pieces and dumped it at different places, including the furnace,” she said.
”Police officers said that ten persons were involved in the crime. Five have been detained and the other five are being searched. The police have also registered a case of gang-rape and murder,” the MLA said while referring to her talk with the police officers.
She said that when the family members were searching for the girl, the furnace was off and they found it burning in the night, which suggests that the body was burnt in the night while the girl went missing in the afternoon.
”At least the body could have been recovered had the police acted in time,” she said.
Bhadel demanded the suspension of SP Bhilwara Adarsh Sidhu in the matter.
Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that the incident was heart-wrenching.
”A girl was gang-raped and burnt alive by throwing her in a furnace. Gehlot, how long will you keep hiding such incidents under the guise of statistics?” Raje said in a tweet.
”Every day your shamelessness is also getting registered in your achievements. Bring them also in front of the public,” she said.
