Raped 14-year-old in Rajasthan was alive when burnt in furnace: Cops

JAIPUR: Nearly a month after a gang-raped minor's body parts were found inside a coal furnace in Bhilwara in Rajasthan, police filed a chargesheet on Saturday, saying the girl was alive when she was burnt.
The chargesheet, filed by investigating officer (IO) and Kotari DSP Shyam Sunder Bishnoi before the Pocso court in Shahpura district, runs into more than 400 pages and names nine of 11 accused.A separate chargesheet would be filed against two minors allegedly involved in the crime. The 14-year-old was gang-raped and set ablaze on August 3 at Koatri in Bhilwara, now part of the Shahpura district.

Senior police officers said the IO faced one of his most challenging investigations in the horrific case. While some of the charred body parts of the teenager were recovered from the furnace, others were scattered at various places. These parts had to be located, carefully collected and preserved to facilitate a thorough forensic examination.

Another challenge was to establish gang rape in the absence of vaginal swab samples. Bishnoi and his team sought forensic experts' help in taking samples from the accused to establish the crime.
All documents were submitted in the court, which suggested that some petroleum-based chemical was poured on the victim before she was set on fire.