Police said the woman, who sustained 95% burn injuries and is in a critical condition in a Dumka hospital, gave her statement about the incident leading to the arrest of the accused
Jharkhand stalker sets 20-yr-old woman on fire after she rebuffs his advances
RANCHI: A 20-year-old woman is battling for life in Jharkhand’s Dumka district after a neighbour who had been stalking her for months set her room on fire early on Tuesday morning. Police said she has sustained 95% burns.
Dumka sub-divisional police officer Noor Mustafa said the accused, Mohammed Shahrukh, has been arrested after the woman gave her statement to the police from her hospital bed. She told the police that the man had been stalking her after she had rebuffed his advances on multiple occasions.
The attack took place at about 4.30am on Tuesday, moments after the woman spotted Shahrukh, who is in his early 20s, standing by the window of her room. He was holding a can with an inflammable liquid and a matchbox.
The police officer said the suspect threw the inflammable liquid into the room and lit up the curtains. He also threw the liquid inside the room so that she couldn’t escape. “She was trapped inside,” Noor Mustafa said. She was rescued by her family and neighbours and taken to the Dumka medical college and hospital which assessed that she has sustained 95% burn injuries.
The hospital’s medical superintendent Anukaran Purty said the woman, who was in a critical condition, still managed to give her statement and signed it. “In such cases, the situation deteriorates suddenly,” he said. Dr Purty said the Dumka hospital didn’t have the burn injury specialists and the patient should be taken to Ranchi or Jamshedpur, the closest locations which will have hospitals equipped to handle such severe burn injuries. Ranchi is 250km from Dumka, Jamshedpur is 275km. “We are waiting for their (her family’s response),” the medical superintendent said.
