Girl set afire by youth in one-sided love dies

Patna: A 17-year-old girl, who was allegedly set ablaze by a youth in a one-sided love affair in Patna district on Jan 17, succumbed to her burn injuries on Friday.She was being treated at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH), Patna. The 22-year-old accused has not been arrested yet, even after about one week of the incident. Police said that searches are on to nab him.The incident occurred at Bairiya village under Gopalpur police station area. The accused, Aditya Kumar, is also from the same village.The girl’s father, Dilip Kumar, said, “Muskan was studying in class 10. She was staying at her maternal grandmother’s house in Bairiya village for her studies. We also rented a house nearby. Aditya tried to forcibly talk to my daughter. On Jan 17, while Muskan was returning home from her grandmother’s house, Aditya started pressuring her to talk.”When Muskan refused to talk, Aditya threatened to make her photo viral. After this, Aditya threatened to sprinkle petrol and burn her. In response, Muskan told him to do so if he had courage. After this, Aditya poured petrol on her and set her afire. She lost consciousness due to burn injuries.Relatives, who reached the spot, informed the police. Muskan was immediately admitted to the NMCH, where she died early on Friday morning.Before dying, Muskan recorded her statement to the police.Sadar SDPO-II, Ranjan Kumar, said: “The victim’s mother filed a complaint at Gopalpur police station. The woman alleged that a youth attempted to set her daughter on fire by sprinkling petrol on her. Police are conducting raids to arrest the accused youth.”