After 10 months of intense legal proceedings, the POCSO court in Bhilwara has delivered a significant verdict in the high-profile Bhatti case involving the brutal gang rape and murder of a minor girl. The court found Kalu and Kanha Kalbeliya guilty, while acquitting seven others, including the primary accused’s wife, sister, parents, and another individual, due to insufficient evidence.
The Bhatti case, which surfaced on August 2, 2023, in the Kotdi police station area of Shahpura district, Bhilwara, has drawn significant attention due to its horrific nature. A minor girl from Giridiya Panchayat was reportedly gang-raped while tending goats in a field and later thrown alive into a coal furnace. Her remains were found the next day in the furnace, with partially burnt parts discovered in a river inside plastic bags.
The trial featured testimonies from 43 witnesses, and Special Public Prosecutor Mahavir Kisanawat noted that a key female witness, the mother-in-law of a main accused, turned hostile and was declared a traitor to the case. The prosecution presented 222 documents as evidence.
The local community was deeply shocked and outraged by the crime, particularly because the families of the accused were involved in concealing the victim’s body. The investigation was led by the then Deputy Superintendent of Police of Kotdi, Shyam Sundar Bishnoi, under the supervision of ADG of Crime Dinesh M N and Ajmer Range IG Lata Manoj.
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