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AGARTALA: A 17-year-old girl held captive and raped for days - allegedly by her boyfriend and his friends - died soon after she was brought to a hospital here with serious burn injuries early on Saturday.

The girl had suffered 90% burn injuries after being set on fire, allegedly by her boyfriend and his mother, at Shantirbazar, South Tripura, on Friday.

Police said the girl was rescued by the neighbours of the accused who took her to GB Pant Hospital here, and added that the girl was held captive for ransom by her boyfriend for two months.

As news of the girl's death spread, a mob gathered at the hospital and attacked the accused youth and his mother, who were taken there by the people who had rescued the victim.

The girl's family alleged that the accused, identified as Ajoy Rudrapal, had demanded Rs 50,000 for her release but they had managed to pay only Rs 17,000 on Friday. This enraged Ajoy who then set her on fire, police claimed.

SP (South Tripura) Jal Singh Meena said, "The main accused in the case, Ajoy, was arrested at the hospital and later brought to Shantirbazar police station. The girl was set ablaze on Friday evening. Investigation is on."

Police said the girl, who met the accused on social media, eloped with him just after Diwali when the youth visited her home and proposed marriage. They claimed that the accused then allegedly forcibly detained her for ransom and that she was raped by him and his friends.

The victim's mother claimed they had lodged a police complaint soon after the girl went missing. When the accused asked for money for a second time, they sought police help again but got no assistance, she claimed. The police officers concerned were not immediately available for comment.

"On Friday night we paid her (Ajoy's mother) Rs 17,000 at the Chandrapur ISBT but she was not happy and warned us to pay the full amount if we wanted to get the girl back. In the meanwhile, we got to know their address and planned to reach them today. But early this morning we were informed that she had been set on fire and had been shifted to hospital," the girl's mother alleged.

"We immediately reported the matter to police but they did not turn up. When we met her at the hospital, my daughter was in critical condition. She told us she she had been repeatedly gang-raped for the past two months and was continuously tortured as we did not pay the ransom money. Finally, when Ajoy got to know that only Rs 17,000 had been paid, he became furious. And at night they set her on fire," the girl's mother claimed.

Quoting the victim, her mother told the media that Ajoy works with a private company in Bengaluru and had come home to meet her daughter. "Everything was fine till my daughter went missing. After the first two days, Ajoy and her mother started torturing her. After some days, Ajoy and her friends started raping her. She was not even given proper food and was told she would be killed if the entire ransom money was not paid," the mother of the girl told reporters.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

