Woman set afire after marriage alliance cancelled, accused held

VIZIANAGARAM: A 21-year-old woman was allegedly set ablaze by a 26-year-old youth at Chowduwada village in Pusapatirega mandal late Thursday night. The victim was identified as Gali Ramulamma, who suffered 60 per cent burns in the attack.

Her sister Sundaramma alias Santhoshi and nephew Aravind (5) too suffered burns when they went to the rescue of Ramulamma. All the three were admitted to the Maharaja District Hospital. Later, Ramulamma was shifted to the KGH in Visakhapatnam for better treatment. The accused was later apprehended on the outskirts of Vizianagaram.

Taking the incident seriously, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed police to initiate stringent action against the accused. Following the directions of Jagan, Municipal Administration Minister Botcha Satyanarayana and Deputy Chief Minister (Tribal Welfare) P Pushpa Srivani visited the victim at the hospital. 

According to the police, Alla Rambabu of Naruva village in Ranastalam mandal of Srikakulam district, has been residing at his uncle’s house in Chowduvada. He works as a mini-van driver and was obsessed with Ramulamma. Recently, families of both Ramulamma and Rambabu had agreed to a marriage alliance, which was cancelled later. 

Ramulamma’s family had planned to perform the marriage in October. However, suspecting that Ramulamma was speaking with someone over the phone, Rambabu started quarrelling with her and allegedly beat her a few days ago. 

Following the incident, Ramulamma family members had decided to cancel the marriage. Angered by their decision, Rambabu developed a grudge against Ramulamma. He entered her house late Thursday night, poured petrol on her while she was asleep and set her ablaze. When she cried for help, Sundaramma went to Ramulamma’s rescue. Sundaramma and Aravind who was along with his mother, also suffered burns. Later, the flames were extinguished. An SOS was sent through Disha App. 

Speaking to the media, Superintendent of Police Deepika M Patil said, “We received an SOS from Chowduwada, which is 25 km away from the Disha police station, at 3:07 am on Friday. Beat constables Damodar and Satyanarayana reached the village within 21 minutes and took the victim to the nearest CHC first, before shifting her to the district hospital. Now, Ramulamma’s condition is stable.” 

Later in the evening,  the SP said Pusapatirega SI arrested Rambabu near Krishnapuram village. “We have registered a case against Rambabu under Section 307 of the IPC. The bottle used to pour petrol on the victim was seized from him. Based on a complaint of the victim, we are investigating the role of the accused’s family members in the attack as they reportedly provoked him,” Deepika said.  After conducting a thorough inquiry, a chargesheet will be filed within seven days, she added.

The ministers, District Collector A Suryakumari and SP Deepika who visited the victim at the district hospital, assured justice to her family. Nellimarla MLA Badukonda Appala Naidu gave `50,000 to the victim’s family from his pocket.

SOS sent through Disha App
“We received an SOS from Chowduwada, which is 25 km away from the Disha police station, at 3:07 am on Friday. Beat constables reached the village within 21 minutes and took the victim to the nearest CHC first, before shifting her to Maharaja District Hospital for better treatment,” said SP Deepika M Patil