Telangana minor, set ablaze for resisting rape, dies after 27 days

The accused tried to pass off the victim’s burn injuries as accidental burns but the police got a whiff in time.

A 13-year old girl, set ablaze for resisting rape attempt by a 26-year old man in Telangana’s Khammam district, died at a private hospital in Hyderabad on Thursday night, after battling for her life for 27 days.

The victim succumbed to her burn injuries after struggling for 27 days. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“Yes, the girl succumbed to her burn injuries in Hyderabad. We have now booked a case of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code,” Khammam commissioner of police Taufseer Iqbal told Hindustan Times.

The girl was working as a domestic help at the residence of the accused in Mustafanagar at the time of the incident on September 18. However, the incident came to light only in the first week of October, when the condition of the girl, being treated secretly at a private hospital in Khammam, turned critical.

The police commissioner said that the hospital authorities were given the impression that she had suffered accidental burns. “When we received specific information that she had received burn injuries for suspicious reasons, we rushed to the hospital and took up the investigation,” the police commissioner told reporters.

The girl with 80% burn injuries was then shifted to Osmania General Hospital in Hyderabad on October 5 and later to a corporate hospital for better treatment. She succumbed to burns late on Thursday night.

The victim told the police that the man attempted to drag her into his bedroom, beat her up and set her ablaze after pouring petrol on her since she resisted his attempts to sexually assault her.

The accused first fled the house, but returned a few hours later to get her admitted to a private hospital for treatment. A couple of days later, he informed the girl’s parents, who live at village Pallegudem, a few kilometres away from Khammam town, the police said.

The police have arrested the man and booked him under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and relevant sections of the IPC, including for attempt to rape and murder and also for trying to suppress the information about the incident.