Two sex attackers are sentenced to death in India for gang-raping girl, 14, and burning her alive inside a furnace in 'rarest of the rare' case that shocked the country as mother cries 'justice' in court

Two sex attackers have been sentenced to death in India for gang-raping a young girl and burning her alive inside a furnace in a 'rarest of the rare' case that shocked the nation.

The two brothers, reportedly identified as Kalu, 25, and Kanha Kaleblia, 21, were found guilty on Saturday of the rape and murder of the 14-year-old girl in August last year.

The Bhilwara Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court also acquitted seven other individuals, including three women who were accused of destroying evidence.

Two of the three women are reportedly married to the Kalbeliya brothers, and the acquittal is set to be challenged in the Rajasthan High Court. 

While delivering the verdict, Judge Anil Gupta classified the case as the 'rarest of the rare'.

Two brothers, reportedly identified as Kalu, 25, (left) and Kanha Kalbeliya, 21, (right) were found guilty on Saturday of the rape and murder of the 14-year-old girl in August last year

The 14-year-old girl was gang-raped and burned alive on a furnace (pictured) in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, on August 2 last year

The victim's distraught parents were also present during the hearing, as her mother cried: 'We have got justice'. 

'My daughter got justice today. I couldn't eat properly in the last few months. Now I will have food with peace', she said.

Special Public Prosecutor Mahaveer Singh Kishnawat told reporters, 'Kalu and Kanha were awarded death penalty.' 

'Magistrate Anil Gupta of the Bhilwara POCSO court found two main accused guilty in the incident. The other seven have been acquitted,' he added. 

He also confirmed the prosecution presented statements from a staggering 43 witnesses, with 42 supporting its evidence.

The barbaric crime took place on August 2 last year in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, after the unnamed girl left her house to take care of her family's goats before going missing.

When she failed to return home, her family launched an urgent search to find her.

Police officials told TOI: 'The girl's brother saw several charcoal furnaces (kilns) set up by the people of a nomadic community. 

They added: 'Smoke billowing from one of the kilns drew his attention and made him suspicious as they were not active in the evening.

'He rummaged through the kiln with a stick and sifted through the charred items.'

Among the items, he found a bracelet that belonged to his sister, which he had tragically gifted to her only a few days earlier.

A team of forensic experts and police officers were rushed to the scene where they uncovered body parts, along with the remnants of the victim's clothing and shoes.

A spokesperson for the police confirmed at the time that the girl was alive when she was set on fire.

Court documents also suggested that the victim was splashed with petroleum-based chemicals before she was burned alive.

Deputy superintendent of police, Kotri Shyam Sundar Bishnoi said that a total of 11 people including two minors were arrested in the case for their alleged involvement.

'Two prime accused, caretakers of the furnace, abducted the girl when she had gone to graze the cattle on August 2 night', he said. 

'The two brothers raped her repeatedly for over four hours. Later, they called their wives, mother, and other aides who threw the minor girl alive in the coal furnace early morning the next day. 

'Following the incident, they also collected a few parts of the minor girl's body and threw them in a well close to the furnace to destroy the evidence,' said Bishnoi.

Police had filed a 473-page long chargesheet against the 11 accused on September 3 last year.

'While the hearing of nine accused had been going on in the special POCSO court, the two minors are being heard separately,' said officials.

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot also publicly hailed the verdict.

'The court's decision sentencing death penalty to the accused of rape and murder of a minor in Bhilwara's Kotri in August 2023 is absolutely welcoming,' he said.

'During the incident, our government took immediate action against the accused and arrested them.... The charge sheet of this case was also filed within a month. The culprits were now convicted within 10 months', he wrote on his official X account.