Indore college principal dies after being set on fire by former student

Bhagwat Singh Virde, Police superintendent (Indore rural), said the accused had failed in the 7th semester.

Vimukta Sharma, the principal of BM Pharmacy College in Indore, who was set on fire by a former student succumbed to her injuries at a hospital on Saturday morning. She died around 4am, India Today, citing her brother Arvind Tiwari.

Vimukta Sharma, principal of BM Pharmacy College in Indore. (File)

Bhagwat Singh Virde, Police superintendent (Indore rural), said the accused, Ashutosh Shrivastava, 24, had failed in the 7th semester. “The principal has succumbed to her injuries during treatment. We found that the student had failed in the 7th semester. We already arrested the accused,” news agency ANI quoted Virde as saying.

Srivastava has been slapped with the stringent National Security Act (NSA) as per an order issued by Indore Collector Ilayaraja T, Virde said.

"During the probe, we found two to three complaints were made against Srivastava by the pharmacy college authorities, the woman principal and other staff, who claimed the accused was threatening suicide," he told news agency PTI.

Sharma, 54, was battling for her life with over 70 per cent burn injuries after Shrivastava after attacking her with a sharp-edged weapon last week doused her in petrol and set her afire at Simrol in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore.

Virde had earlier told HT that Shrivastava has also suffered 20 per cent burn injuries. He added that Shrivastava was released on bail after he was arrested for attacking Sharma with the sharp-edged weapon. Shrivastava blamed Sharma for his failure in clearing his B Pharmacy exam.

“Sharma was near her car when Shrivastava came and poured petrol on her. He then set her afire. Some passersby doused the fire and informed the police,” said Virde.

Meanwhile, a police assistant sub-inspector, Sanjeev Tiwari, in Indore has been placed under suspension for alleged negligence of duty in connection with the case, news agency PTI reported.

Shrivastava was earlier taken to the spot to enact the crime as part of the probe. There were also reports that Shrivastava has told the police that he cleared the B Pharma exam in July 2022, but despite several requests, the management of BM College of Pharmacy was not giving him his mark sheet. However, refuting the allegations, the college authorities said Shrivastava, who has criminal antecedents, was not coming to collect the mark sheet despite several reminders.