Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh): In a gruesome incident, a teenage girl student was set on fire by a youth at Gokavaram village, near Badvel town in which she sustained 80 percent burns and was battling for life in the RIMS hospital here.
Kadapa District Superintendent of Police Harshavardhan Raju told the media on Saturday that the victim is studying Intermediate and she belongs to Ramanjaneya Nagar locality in Badvel town. The 22-year-old accused Vignesh and the victim have been friends since childhood and residents of the same locality.
The accused Vignesh phoned the victim in the morning and insisted on meeting him on the outskirts. He took the girl in an autorickshaw to PP Kunta area on the outskirts of Gokavaram village. He forcibly took her behind bushes at the secluded place on the pretext of speaking to her. Suddenly he poured petrol on her and set her on fire. Later he fled from the scene.
The girl suffered 80 percent burns and the passersby heard the screams of the victim and saw her with burn injuries. They informed the same to the police. The police immediately rushed there and shifted the girl to the RIMS hospital in an ambulance.
The SP said that four special teams were formed to apprehend the accused Vignesh.
The parents of the victim told the media that the girl was studying first Intermediate and the accused Vignesh befriended the girl.
The accused Vignesh got married recently but he had been harassing the girl in the name of love for the last few months. Poignant scenes were witnessed at the RIMS hospital here with parents and relatives wailing inconsolably. The magistrate took a statement from the victim. The incident sent shockwaves in Badvel town.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inquired about the incident with the police officials. He directed the district officials to take steps to provide the best medical treatment to the girl and arrested the perpetrator immediately.
Meanwhile, the doctor said that the condition of the girl is very critical.