The woman is being treated with severe burns (Representative Image) | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Patna: Yet another heart-wrenching crime where a woman was set ablaze in her own home is coming to light from the Narkatiyaganj area of Bettiah city in Bihar's Champaran district. The victim is being treated at the Sadar Hospital where she was admitted with 80 per cent burns. Police have taken cognisance of the matter and are in the process of identifying the culprits.

It is also being reported that the victim is 19-year-old and was one-month pregnant at the time assailants barged into her home and set her on fire. The main accused, one Arman Ansari, had raped her on the pretext of marrying her. After she conceived a child as a result of the rape, she pressed him to marry her. This is when the main accused and his accomplices barged into her home when she was alone and set her on fire, said a police official familiar with the case.

Upon hearing her scream, neighbours rushed to the victim's rescue and managed to douse the fire. She was then taken to the local health care centre and later referred to the Sadar Hospital with severe burn injuries. Police have already recorded the victim's statement and a case has been registered on the basis of her allegations.

A team has been formed to nab the accused and is currently raiding their known hideouts, said the superintendent of police. However, the brutality and the nature of this case is but a grim reminder of how crimes against women are skyrocketing across the country. In November, a veterinarian was gang-raped, murdered and her body set ablaze in Telangana. In Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarpur, a woman sustained 85 per cent burn injuries after her stalker set her on fire. And in Tripura, another woman was set ablaze after her family members refused to pay dowry.