A 29-year-old Dalit woman died and her five-year-old daughter suffered burn injuries after their house in Arwal district of Bihar was set ablaze late on Monday night, police said, adding that the key accused in the case, who had allegedly tried to molest a woman from the victims’ family, has been arrested.
According to police, four members of the family were inside the house in Chakia village when it was set on fire.
While the woman died due of burn injuries on Tuesday, her five-year-old daughter is undergoing treatment in Patna, said an officer familiar with the matter.
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According to Arwal Superintendent of Police, Himanshu Shankar Trivedi, the accused who is in custody, Nand Kumar Mahto (32), had allegedly tried to molest the deceased woman’s sister-in-law on Sunday.
On Monday night, the sister-in-law, who was sleeping in the same house, woke up because of the sound of crackling bamboo and found that the house had been set on fire, said the SP.
“Preliminary probe suggests Aarti was the main target but she survived as she was sleeping in another room,” said the SP.
{{/usCountry}}“Preliminary probe suggests Aarti was the main target but she survived as she was sleeping in another room,” said the SP.
{{/usCountry}}The sister-in-law told reporters that she had an altercation with Mahto on Sunday evening during which he tried to molest her and threatened her with dire consequences.
Inspector general (IG) of police (Magadh range), M R Nayak, said Mahto has been arrested and SP Trivedi was camping in the village to contain the situation. He said that a case had also been lodged against two other persons named by the sister-in-law.
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Meanwhile, LJP (Nationalist) chief and union minister Pasupati Nath Paras demanded that the accused be punished through trial in a fast-track court. He also demanded the resignation of chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Chirag Paswan, president of LJP (Ramvilas), said the chief minister was patronising the accused involved in the incident.
Janata Dal (United) Arwal unit president, Ramkishore Verma, hit back saying “isolated incidents do not mean that law and order has gone awry”.