Jharkhand: Woman set on fire for resisting rape attempt, succumbs to injuries

The 23-year-old woman, who was set on fire for allegedly resisting rape attempt, succumbed to her burn injuries in a Ranchi hospital on Sunday morning, police said.

The woman had been doused with petrol and set on fire in her home in Jharkhand's Hazaribag allegedly by four persons for resisting rape attempt on the night of January 7, with three of her attackers being her relatives.

The woman was under treatment at Ranchi's Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) with about 70 per cent burn injuries. Hazaribag Superintendent of Police (SP) Manoj Ratan Chothe confirmed to PTI that, "The woman died on Sunday morning at RIMS."

Also Read | Gang rape survivor made to wait for 12 hours in police van for medical examination

Hazaribag police had formed a special investigation team (SIT) for a thorough probe into the case. However, no arrest has been made in the case so far. The SP said that the investigation is on and accused will be nabbed soon. "Apart from named accused in the FIR, we are also investigating the role of the victim’s husband in the incident."

There is a mismatch in statements given by the woman and her husband. "The woman had told police that she was rescued by the neighbours after she shouted for help, while the husband claimed that she was rescued by him," the SP said.

The husband was already married and the victim was his fourth wife, police said.

The police had also raised doubt over the rape attempt allegation of the woman, as among the four accused allegedly involved in the crime, one is a woman and she is sister in-law of the victim. The sister-in-law's sons are also allegedly involved in the crime.

Also Read | NGO opposes criminalisation of marital rape in SC, says it would destabilise institution of marriage

Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Anuj Oraon, who is investigating the case, told PTI, "The allegations made in the FIR by the victim did not match with our initial investigation. We are yet to find any evidences against the accused."

He said, "We are waiting for the FSL’s (forensic science laboratory) report to reach any conclusion." Meanwhile, family members of the victim demanded that police immediately arrest the accused persons.