16YEAROLD GIRL SET ON FIRE BY STALKER IN BHADOHI, DIES

VARANASI: A 16-year-old girl died on Monday at Alampur in Bhadohi district after being set on fire by an alleged stalker.

On Sunday evening, a man identified by the girl’s father as 18-year-old Mohammad Zahid barged into the girl’s house, poured kerosene on her and set her aflame.

The girl’s family was able to douse the fire, but by then, she had already suffered severe burns.

Navin Kumar Tiwari of Kotwali police station said: “The girl was a student of Class 10. According to the girl’s father, Zahid used to harass his daughter. Upset over this, she informed her family about it.”

The girl was taken to the government hospital in Bhadohi from where she was referred to the divisional hospital in Varanasi.

A senior medical officer in the burn unit of the divisional hospital said the girl had sustained over 70% burns and succumbed during treatment on Monday.

“A case has been registered against Zahid under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapon or means), and 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the complaint of the girl’s father,” the Alampur station officer said.

Police said on Monday that the FIR would be suitably modified in view of the girl’s death and added that teams had been deployed to arrest Zahid.