In another horrific incident, a pregnant girl was burnt allegedly by her boyfriend at a village under Sikarpur police station limits in Bihar’s West Champaran district on Tuesday morning. Bettiah Superintendent of Police, Nitasha Gudiya, said, “The two had a love affair. The girl claims to be one-month pregnant.”

#UPDATE Bihar: The minor girl who was allegedly set ablaze by a man in Betia yesterday has succumbed to injuries. Police had arrested the accused yesterday. https://t.co/D0TPG8B3zw — ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2019

The main accused, one Arman Ansari, has been arrested late evening, police have confirmed. “The accused has been arrested and we are investigating the case,” said Suryakant Chaubey, the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Narkatiaganj. She suffered massive burn injuries on her face and other parts of her body, he added.

The girl who had suffered around 70-80 per cent burn injury, had been admitted at a hospital in Narkatiyaganj area in Bettiah. She was later referred to the Patna Medical College and Hospital for further medical treatment. According to a report by Zee News, the girl succumbed to her injuries while she was on her way to Patna for treatment.

Read: Unnao case: All you need to know about a ghastly crime born out of a troubled relationship

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As for the age of the victim, there seems to be some confusion as a few reports claim that the victim was 19-years-old while others claim that the victim was a minor.

The victim was one month pregnant with her boyfriend’s child who allegedly lured her into establishing a physical relationship with him on the pretext of marriage. However, after learning about her pregnancy the boy, who was allegedly in his 20s, backtracked. On being pressurised by the victim to marry her, the accused, Arman Ansari with the help of his friends, barged into her home when she was alone, doused the girl with kerosene and set her on fire.

“The duo was having an affair for sometimes now. When she became pregnant, she insisted on their marriage. We also tried to build social pressure on his family members. But nothing worked,” said the victim’s brother.

Read: Tripura: Minor girl raped, burnt to death by boyfriend, his family and friends after keeping her captive for two months

Upon hearing her scream, the 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 had recorded the victim’s statement and a case has been registered on the basis of her allegations.

Various such ghastly incidents of sexual assault on women have been reported from various parts of the country recently.

Recently, a rape victim in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao was set ablaze by her accused when she was on her way to a local court for the hearing on a rape case filed by her. She was set on fire by five men, including her rape accused. She succumbed to her injuries a day after the incident.

Similarly, in November, a veterinarian was gang-raped, murdered and her body set ablaze in Telangana. Later, all four accused were killed in a police encounter.