16-year-old Jharkhand girl raped and set on fire succumbs to injuries

A 16-year-old girl who was in Jharkhand’s Pakur district this month succumbed to her injuries on Friday, police said.

According to the police, the girl was raped on May 4 by a neighbour Bacchan Mandal at her house in Kakarwana village when her family members had gone out for work. When the victim cried for help, Mandal took her to a nearby toilet and set her on fire.

She was rushed to a hospital and then shifted to the Bokaro General Hospital.

The family members of the victim earlier assumed she had committed suicide but after she regained her consciousness, she revealed to the police that she was raped and set on fire. A case under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act besides other relevant sections of IPC had been filed with the Mufassil police station,” Pakur sub-divisional police officer Shrawan Kumar told HT earlier this month.

Authorities had also removed officer-in-charge of the Mufassil police station for showing ‘indifferent attitude in taking action against the accused’.

This was the second case of a minor girl being sexually assaulted and set on fire in Jharkhand. Fifteen people were arrested from a village in connection with the of Jharkhand.

(With IANS inputs)