JOIN USA 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped and set ablaze by a youth in Greater Noida in yet another horrific instance of crime against women in the NCR area.
The girl suffered over 95 per cent burns and is fighting for her life at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi following the incident that occurred yesterday in Tigri village in Greater Noida West.
The accused, aged 18 years, has been taken into custody, police said. He was a neighbour of the victim's family and, according to her father, had become friendly with her.
Circle Officer Rakesh Yadav said a police team has been deployed in Tigri to deal with any untoward incident arising from the alleged crime yesterday.
Police said the youth allegedly went to the girl's house yesterday and met her on the roof where he raped her and set her ablaze. He then fled the spot.
Officials at Safdarjung Hospital said the girl is admitted in the Burn ICU and her condition is "extremely critical".
"She is extremely critical. She was brought in with around 95 per cent thermal burns in a case of sexual assault as alleged by her parents.
"There are burns all over her body except for the upper portion of her face and head. Our priority now is to control the infection," said Poonam Dhanda, PRO of Safdarjung Hospital.
However, doctors said they have not yet been able to perform any examination on her to confirm sexual assault due to the grievous nature of her burns.
According to the girl's father, his family had complained to the accused youth's kin around a year back about him harassing the victim. But despite an assurance from his family members, he continued to trouble her.
The incident yesterday, which occurred on the eve of International Women's Day, is yet another in a chain of crimes against women in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) zone, where the Nirbhaya gangrape case of 2012 had led to nationwide outrage and a revision of rape laws.