india

Updated: Oct 10, 2019 22:59 IST

A 17-year-old girl in Kochi died after being set on fire by a 22-year-old man, who had allegedly been stalking her for more than a year, police said on Thursday. The man also set himself on fire, and both succumbed to their burn injuries in a hospital.

Police said the incident occurred in Kakkanad, a suburb of Kochi. The father of the girl, a class 12 student, suffered burn injuries too while trying to save her, but his condition is stable, doctors said.

According to police, her parents had warned the youth, Mithun, on several occasions not to disturb their daughter. They had also filed a police complaint following which he was summoned to the police station two days back and asked to mend his ways, said police.

“We have registered murder case and inquiry is on. We took parents statements,” said Info Park police station house officer PK Biju.

The girl’s friends told police that she was disturbed by the events of the last couple of days, one of them said.

On Thursday morning, Mithun barged into the minor’s two-room house and insisted that he wanted to see her. As soon as she stepped out, he grabbed her and emptied a bottle of petrol on her and himself and set her on fire, said police.

The girl’s parents told the police that before they could do anything both were engulfed in flames. The mother collapsed after witnessing the grisly crime and was admitted to a hospital.

Calling it an “unfortunate” incident, Kerala police chief Loknath Behra said while police had a limited role to play, media and society can play a key role in curbing such cases.

In March this year, a woman was stabbed and set on fire in Thiruvalla by a man she had a relationship with, when she resisted his advances. The accused, Ajin Reji Mathew (25), was later caught by locals and handed over to the police.