Express News Service By

A 21-year-old youth set a 15-year-old girl on fire after the latter spurned his advances in Kendrapara district on Sunday. The victim, a resident of seaside village of Kharinashi under Mahakalapada police limits, suffered 70 per cent burns and is in a critical condition.

Police said the accused, Pradip Das, a resident of Kharinashi village had been trying to woo the girl for over a year now but in vain.

On Sunday, when she was returning home after carrying water from the village tube-well, Pradip along with his friend Ekadashi Das allegedly dragged her inside his house and poured kerosene on her. The duo then set her ablaze when she shouted for help.

The locals rescued the girl and rushed her to the district headquarters hospital at Kendrapara. Later, she was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack as her condition worsened. The victim is a Class VIII student of the village school. After committing the heinous crime, both the accused managed to flee.

A case has been registered against Ekadashi and Pradip. A manhunt has been launched to nab them, A Dalua, IIC of Mahakalapada police station said.

A similar incident had occured on Friday morning when a jilted lover allegedly attacked a tribal girl with a sharp weapon at Sana Mangala Chack within Kendrapara Town police limits. The girl is a student of Kendrapara Autonomous College.