21-year-old woman, set afire after rape bid, dies in UP’s Shahjahanpur

Police said the woman was found with serious burn injuries seven hours after her father dropped her at her college. Three seniors allegedly set the woman on fire after a failed rape attempt

A 21-year-old woman succumbed to her burn injuries at a hospital in Lucknow on Tuesday over a month after she was set afire and abandoned near a highway in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur on February 22.

Representational Image. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Police superintendent S Anand said the woman was rushed to Lucknow for better medical treatment. “Her body has been sent for post-mortem examination. Investigation regarding the case is still on.”

Police said the woman was found with serious burn injuries seven hours after her father dropped her at her college.

Three seniors allegedly set the woman on fire after a failed rape attempt. They have been arrested along with a woman for allegedly introducing the 21-year-old to them. “On the day of the incident...[the woman] asked the 21-year-old to meet her near a spot outside their college. When the 21-year-old reached there, she found the three accused. The three tried to rape her and when she resisted, they tried to immolate her. The 21-year-old ran from the spot towards the nearby road where she was rescued by locals,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.

In her statement to a magistrate, the 21-year-old named the four. Anand said the accused will now be booked for murder as well.