In a chilling reminder of the recent Unnao case, an 18-year-old girl was allegedly raped and set ablaze at a village in Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
She is battling for life at a Kanpur hospital with 90% burns.
The 22-year-old accused is her distant relative, who allegedly raped and set the girl ablaze when she was alone at her house under the Hussainganj police station, circle officer Kapil Dev Mishra said.
On hearing her cries, neighbours rushed her to a community health centre in the area from where she was referred to the Kanpur hospital.
Accused on the run
On the complaint of the victim’s father, an FIR has been registered against the accused and efforts are on to arrest him, the officer said.
The officer said following initial investigations, it has come out that the girl was “romantically involved” with the man and a “panchayat” was held between their families over the matter on Friday.
An understanding on marriage was also reached, he said, adding that further probe was on.
Last week, a rape survivor from Unnao was set ablaze by five people, including two rape accused. They were arrested the same day. The girl later died during treatment in a Delhi hospital.
