Woman set ablaze for resisting rape

Medieval UP

A woman was allegedly set ablaze after she resisted an attempt to outrage her modesty at a village in UP’s backward Gonda district, police said.

The woman, who suffered severe burn injuries, was rushed to the district hospital in Gonda, from where she was referred to Lucknow for treatment.

Her condition is critical, police said.

The woman, whose husband worked as a labourer in Ludhiana, was alone when Sharda Prasad Shukla, a resident of the same village, barged into her house on Saturday evening and tried to rape her.

The woman’s father-in-law had gone to a market when the incident happened.
Since Shukla also worked with the victim’s husband in Ludhiana, he was known to the family and used to visit them frequently.

Poured kerosene on her

The woman offered resistance and also shouted for help. Apparently, frustrated over his failure and angered by her resistance, Shukla poured kerosene on her and set her ablaze before escaping.

Some neighbours, who reached there on hearing her cries, doused the flame. But she had suffered serious burns by then and was battling for her life.

A mob later laid siege to Dhanepur police station and demanded immediate arrest of the culprit.

Police said a massive manhunt has been launched to nab Shukla.

The husband has been informed of the incident, police said. “We will catch the culprit soon and file a case against him,” a police officer said.