A 16-year-old girl was battling for her life Sunday with 60-65 per cent burn injuries a day after five men allegedly set her afire following an argument over filling water at Vaina in Kanpur Dehat district. Nidhi Dhore was allegedly assaulted and then set on fire after she resisted one Saryu Prasad’s attempt to browbeat her. “…Saryu snatched her bucket and threw it away when she tried to fill water. When she resisted more people — Rajjan Babu (40), Veeru Raidas (19), Sonu Raidas (27) and Neeraj (23) — came and started beating and abusing her,” said Nidhi’s father, Ramesh Chandra.
He said the five chased her when Nidhi ran back home, where they set her afire. Chandra, a farm labourer, said the public hand-pump in located near the houses of the attackers and they do not let others fill water from there. Saryu, 60, has been arrested while the rest were on the run.
The five have been booked under the IPC’s sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation).