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Sachin Pilot reacts after 14-year-old Rajasthan girl's charred body found in Bhilwara furnace; kin allege rape
Reacting to the incident, Sachin Pilot said his heart was “deeply disturbed” by the news of brutality with the minor girl.
Rajasthan Congress leader Sachin Pilot has reacted strongly to the alleged rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in the Bhilwara district and demanded stringent action against the culprits.
The girl was allegedly murdered and later burned in a coal furnace in Bhilwara district, police said on Thursday as the locals claimed that she was also gang-raped. 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 gangraped before she was murdered and thrown into the furnace.
Reacting to the incident on Thursday night, Pilot said his heart was “deeply disturbed” by the news of brutality with the minor girl.
“Any type of oppression on daughters-women is not acceptable. Stringent action should be taken against the culprits who commit such inhuman acts and the strictest punishment should be given to them and the victim's family should get justice soon. My deepest sympathies are with the victim's family,” Pilot tweeted in Hindi.
Pilot's tweet comes days after hundreds of Bharatiya Janata Party workers staged a massive protest in Jaipur against the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government over the rise in crime against women.
Earlier, Rajendra Gudha, the sacked Rajasthan minister, also criticised the Ashok Gehlot-led government, alleging that the state has attained the dubious distinction of being ranked number one in crimes against women. Gudha is known as a loyalist to Pilot.
Last incident of crime against girl
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, 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.
Locals caught hold of a few people, suspecting their involvement in the crime, and handed them over to the police, officials said.
The detained people who live near the furnaces are being interrogated at the Kotri police station.
An FIR has been registered under sections of murder and gang-rape. Five suspects have been detained and being interrogated, SP Adarsh Sidhu said. IG Ajmer Lata Manoj Ajmer also reached Bhilwara and inspected the spot.
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. Police said they have not yet ruled out the possibility of rape in the matter, adding that further probe is on.
(With inputs from agencies)
