PUNE: A 15-year-old schoolgirl from Baramati set herself ablaze after she was allegedly raped by a youth from her locality on December 9. The girl sustained 90% burns and is undergoing treatment in a hospital in the city. Her condition is critical.

The suspect, Surendra Kajale, is at large but the Baramati police have arrested a 25-year-old woman for allegedly abetting the crime.

Inspector Santosh Chavan of the Baramati taluka police station told TOI that the girl was on her way to the chemist on December 8 to buy medicine for a headache when Kajale forced her into the woman’s house and allegedly raped her.

“After the girl set herself on fire, she was rushed to a private hospital in Pune. Initially, she gave a statement that she had got burned following a stove blast in the kitchen,” Chavan said.

Chavan said the girl was transferred to another hospital in Pune. “On December 14, she gave her statement to the nayab tehsildar in which she said Kajale had raped her He also threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the rape ,” he said.

Investigations have revealed that the woman was not at home when the rape took place.