Woman set on fire in UP's Sitapur for resisting molestation bid

LUCKNOW: A woman, set on fire in Sitapur late on Saturday by two men who had harassed her, was battling for life after suffering 60 per cent burn injuries. The attack came when she was on her way to the police station for a second time, two days after being harassed, to try and file a complaint after she had been turned away by police.The 28-year-old woman was admitted to the district hospital in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh . The woman and the accused are Dalits. The accused were arrested on Sunday. DGP O P Singh has ordered the suspension of Tambor SHO Om Prakash Saroj for laxity in supervision, head constable Chedilal was suspended for not attending to her complaint."An inquiry by IGP (Lucknow range) Sujeet Pandey is underway to ascertain the role of the local police outpost in-charge, Manoj Kumar. We are probing the extent of negligence on the part of Manoj Kumar to initiate stringent action," the DGP told TOI.Police said the woman was on her way to her in-laws' house in an adjacent village on November 29 when she was intercepted by two men who were brothers. They passed lewd remarks and tried to molest her. She managed to flee and reached Tambor police station with the help of locals. However, the police personnel on duty sent her away, she said later.She then arrived at her in-laws' house and told them about the incident. On November 30, the woman's in-laws informed "UP 100" about the incident. A police team arrived at the home but left after directing the family to lodge a written complaint at Tambor police station.On December 1, when the woman was going to the police station, where she was to be joined by her parents, the accused intercepted her near a sugarcane field in Kuraiya area, poured kerosene on her and set her ablaze. Hearing her cries, locals rushed her to a hospital.The woman's statement was recorded by a magistrate.In her statement, she named the accused and narrated the inaction of local policemen.Sitapur SP Prabhakar Chaudhary told TOI that the two accused Rajesh and Ramu, were arrested on Sunday afternoon and booked for sexual assault and attempted murder. "Since both the victim and the accused are Dalits, sections of the SC/ST Act have not been used," Chaudhary said.