According to the family, the girl had resisted harassment by the accused when she was returning home from market, police said.A 16-year-old girl was allegedly set on fire on the terrace of her home in a village in Ballia district on Sunday early morning.
Police have arrested a 22-year-old neighbour on a complaint lodged by the girl’s family.
The girl’s family alleged that the 22-year-old neighbour climbed on the terrace of their house and set her ablaze after pouring kerosene oil on her when she was asleep.
According to the family, the girl had resisted harassment by the accused when she was returning home from market, police said.
Circle Officer (Ballia) Arun Kumar Singh said that as per the girl’s father, the entire family was sleeping on the terrace of the house on Saturday night when around 3 am, he woke up on hearing his daughter’s loud cry. The father said that he saw his daughter engulfed in flames and the accused jumping to the neighbour’s house, the officer added.
In an attempt to douse the flames, the father said that he sustained burn injuries in his left hand. The girl has been admitted to a hospital in Varanasi with 60 per cent burn injuries and her condition is said to be critical, said police.
The girl’s father told the police that on Saturday afternoon, the accused harassed her and threatened to spoil her life when she was returning home from market, the Circle Officer said, adding that the girl’s family alleged that accused harassed her whenever she stepped out of the house.
Police, however, said that they had have received any complaint from the girl’s family about the alleged harassment earlier.
“The accused, who worked as a labourer in Delhi and had returned to the village after the lockdown, has been booked for murder attempt and under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. We are trying to collect information about accused and the investigation is on,” said the CO.