17-year-old Odisha girl who was set on fire by her classmate, dies

india

Updated: Jun 10, 2019 14:07 IST

A 17-year-old girl of Odisha’s Koraput district who was set on fire by a male classmate a week ago succumbed to her injuries on Sunday night.

The girl, a diploma engineering student in Semiliguda area of Koraput district, was set on fire by Gopinath Khara after she rejected his advances.

Semiliguda police station inspector in-charge Priyash Chhotray said the victim had suffered more than 50 per cent burn injuries and died in a private hospital in Bhubaneswar.

“When she was admitted to a government hospital in Koraput, the doctors had said she had very slim chance of survival as upper part of her body was burnt. We somehow managed to get her dying declaration,” said the inspector.

Khara, who surrrendered before the police last week after hiding for a few days, has already been sent to jail. After the girl’s death, he would be charged with murder, police said.

Police said Khara was rejected by the girl several times and had also threatened to lodge a complaint against him. This seems to have infuriated Khara who sneaked into her rented house on May 31 with a bottle of petrol and set her on fire. Hearing her screams, neighbours rushed to help her.