Woman set afire after failed rape bid in Bihar dies

A young woman who was set ablaze by her neighbour after a failed rape bid at her village home near here recently has died, after battling for life for nearly a week, police said on Wednesday.

The victim, who suffered 50 per cent burn injuries on December 8, was rushed to the SKMCH hospital in Muzaffarpur town from where she was referred to a hospital in Patna two days later as her condition worsened, SHO of Ahiyapur police station Vikas Rai said.

She breathed her last at a hospital in the Bihar capital on Monday morning and as the news spread to her village, Nazirpur, in Ahiyapur police station area, it evoked angry protests from locals who staged demonstrations on Tuesday at various spots in the district.

They alleged that the accused, Ravi Rai, who was arrested immediately upon the registering of FIR, had been harassing the woman for three years but police did not pay heed to the complaints of her family which emboldened the neighbour to try forcing himself on her while she was alone at her home and when she put up a resistance set her on fire in a fit of rage.

They also demanded speedy trial and death sentence for the accused.

The agitators dispersed after several hours with senior police officials assuring them that investigation would be complete at the earliest and justice would be ensured.

In Patna, RPF officials said a case has been lodged under relevant sections of the IPC and the Railways Act against several persons who had gathered under the banner of 'Bhumihar Ekta Manch' a caste-based outfit and squatted on the tracks in protest against the death of the girl who had succumbed to injuries at a hospital nearby.