Raped Noida teen dies of burn injuries

Relatives carry the body of the 16-year-old girl, who was raped and then set on fire, during her funeral in Greater Noida on Wednesday. (Photo: AFP)

Relatives carry the body of the 16-year-old girl, who was raped and then set on fire, during her funeral in Greater Noida on Wednesday. (Photo: AFP)

The 16-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped and set on fire by her boyfriend at Tigri village under Bisrakh police station in Greater Noida on Sunday, succumbed to her injuries at New Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on Wednesday.

The police said that doctors at the Safdarjung Hospital had declared the victim dead at 2.30 am on Wednesday. Her body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem and the teenager’s funeral was held amid heavy police presence. The post-mortem report is still awaited.

“We have added IPC Section 302 in the case,” said Ashwani Kumar, inspector of the Bisrakh police station in Greater Noida. “We could not record the victim’s statement in presence of a magistrate under CrPC Section 164. The investigating officer with a magistrate had gone to the hospital to record her statement, but the doctors denied them permission as she was in critical state,” said Mr Kumar.

A senior police officer said that the police has enough evidence to investigate the case. The accused named in the FIR has been already sent to jail. “The police has been deployed in the village as precautionary measure as the victim and the accused are from different religions. The situation is under control and life is normal at the village,” said the police officer.

“We are re-constructing the entire incident on the basis of details revealed by the accused and the details told by the victim’s parents. We are also examining mobile phone records to verify the claims of the accused,” said Mr Kumar.

The accused in his confession to the police had claimed that the girl had tried self-immolation and he had attempted to douse the fire and save her. He had shown burn injuries on his hands, which he claimed occurred while trying to save the girl. He said the girl was wearing a nylon suit that caught fire immediately and he was not able to save her.

Meanwhile, a two-member team of the National Commission for Women also visited Tigri village on Wednesday.

Rekha Singh, a member of the team, visited the victim’s house and met her family members.

She also met senior police officials and urged them to thoroughly probe the matter and file the chargesheet at the earliest.