18-yr-old Dalit girl burnt alive in UP, jilted lover arrested

Crimes against women continue unabated in Uttar Pradesh. In yet another shocking incident, an 18-year-old Dalit girl was burnt alive by unidentified miscreants in Unnao district, barely 65 km from state capital Lucknow, on Thursday.

Soni (name changed), a resident of Sathnibala Kheda under Bara Sagwar Police Station in Unnao district, had left her house on bicycle to buy vegetables from nearby Teda Bazar at 6.30pm on Thursday.  On her way back, she was mobbed by unidentified persons who sprinkled petrol on her and burnt her alive.

She cried for help but since it was a dark and secluded area, no one could hear her shrieks. She succumbed to burn injuries on the spot. Soni’s body was later found by family members who went out to look for her when she did not return home till 8 pm.

The police arrested the girl’s jilted lover, identified as Vikas Gupta, in connection with the gruesome murder.  Police said he set her afire after she refused to marry him.

A container with leftover petrol and a matchbox were found from the spot. Her bicycle with a bag of vegetables was also recovered at some distance. Senior police officers, including IG Lucknow Zone Sujit Kumar Pandey, rushed to the spot.

“Initial investigations suggest that she was burnt alive. We have lodged a case against the lover and sent the body for post-mortem,” said Pandey.

The SHO of Bara Sagwar Police Station said they were awaiting the post-mortem report to find out whether the girl was subjected to sexual assault by the assailants before being burnt alive.

GRUESOME ACT

• Unnao police arrested the girl’s jilted lover, identified as Vikas Gupta, in connection with the murder. Police said he had set her afire after she refused to marry him.