Four days after a 14-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped and later thrown into a coal furnace in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara, the uncle of the victim said that the girl could have been saved had the police acted as soon as they were informed.

Speaking to The Indian Express, the girl’s uncle, a gram panchayat member, said that had the police acted as soon as they were informed by the family about her disappearance, “the girl may have been alive now, or at least we would have got her body for the last rites”.

“After finding the negligence of the Assistant Sub Inspector who was the duty officer when information was first given to the police station, the ASI has been suspended. After seeing the supervisory negligence of the SHO (Station House Officer), I have also ordered his suspension,” the Ajmer Range IG Lata Manoj Kumar told reporters.

Also Read: Rajasthan: Minor girl allegedly raped and thrown into coal furnace, 3 arrested

Police have registered a case of gangrape and murder against the accused and have also booked them under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. 

According to the police investigation, four women, including the wives of the two main accused, had helped them burn the girl’s body at a charcoal furnace.

“After investigating the case, we found that around 10 people were involved, of which six are male and four are female — two wives, one mother and one sister (of the two accused). There is also a juvenile who has been detained. We have arrested four people and detained one person. The other accused are being tracked,” Bhilwara SP Adarsh Sidhu told reporters on Friday.

The incident has sparked massive outrage in the state with members of opposition BJP sitting in protest outside the nearest police station. However, the protesters agreed to call-off the protest after the district collector gave a commitment to file the chargesheet in the case within 15 days.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took to X on Saturday and confirmed that so far seven persons have been arrested in the case.

Moreover, the family is demanding “compensation of Rs 1 crore, a government job for one family member, and death sentence for the accused”, reported The Indian Express.