BAREILLY: Two
teenage sisters
were set on fire by an unidentified assailant while asleep at home in Bareilly early on Friday morning, with the elder sister, 19, sustaining 95% burns. The younger girl, 17, suff ered 60% burns.
The two were asleep under a mosquito net when the
assailant struck
, after allegedly breaking into their house at Devraniya Jagir. According to the younger sister, a Class IX student, they did not get time to either see the man's face or save themselves as he poured petrol on them and set them alight. Their cries alerted the family, who rushed to the girls' sleeping area but found the two already
engulfed in flames.
The girls have been admitted to the district hospital, where the 19-year old was described as being in a very critical condition.
The duo's family said they had no enmity or disputes with anyone, at a loss to grasp a possible motive. However, talking to TOI from her hospital bed, the younger girl said she was being "stalked and harassed by a local youth for months". "He used to follow me on my way to and from school... I had complained about it to some of my relatives but he kept harassing m e."
"We are closely monitoring the situation and several teams have been pressed into action. A bottle containing petrol and two mobile phones have been recovered from the spot. A couple of suspects are being rounded up for possible leads," senior superintendent of police
Jogendra Kumar
said.
An FIR under IPC's sections 326 A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc), 336 (act endangering life and public safety of others), 307 (attempt to murder) and 452 (house trespass after preparation of hurt) has been registered at the Nawabganj police station. The incident comes close on the heels of a girl's murder in Ballia this week by her stalker.