Jharkhand: Day after girl dies of burns, Dumka residents block road seeking justice

DUMKA: Hundreds of villagers on Saturday blocked the Dumka-Bhagalpur Road at Nonihaat by laying the body of Maruti Kumari (22), who was set afire by her former boyfriend on Friday in a rerun of a similar incident that had happened in the district in August.
The protesters, comprising a large number of women, demanded that the police should hand over accused Rajesh Raut to them so that he could be cremated alive with the victim.
Accused Rajesh Raut was arrested on Friday from his home under Ramgarh police station limits.
Accused Rajesh had allegedly set Maruti Kumari on fire while she was in her sleep. He wanted to continue his relationship with her even after he got married.
The body of the girl was first taken to her maternal grandparents home at Bhalki village under Jarmundi police station limits of the district, where she had been residing since childhood.
“We have lost our child. Now we want nothing. Our only demand is that the culprit should be hung,” the victim's maternal grandfather, Kishan Raut (65), said.
Maruti, who was academically bright, used to live with them and he had got her admitted to SP College in Dumka, he added.
The victim’s maternal aunt Kajal Devi said they want nothing but a painful death for the perpetrator of the crime.
When the body was being taken to her home at Bhairavpur under the Jama police station limits, residents enforced blockade at Nonihaat, demanding justice for her. “We want the accused to be handed over to us so that he can be burnt alive along with the deceased in the same funeral pyre,” a woman protester said.
The blockade was removed after Godda BJP MP Nishikant Dubey along with former minister Lois Marandi reached the site. “We persuaded the protesters to allow the last rites of the girl. When the administrative officials are busy looting the state, how can they maintain law and order?” Dubey lambasted the Hemant Soren-led government.
State agriculture minister Badal Patralekh said they would ensure that the case is fast-tracked so that justice was delivered to Maruti’s family.
(With nputs from Agencies)