Varanasi: Three youths allegedly set on fire a 19-year-old girl inside her house for opposing their teasing and harassment in Lallapura area under Sigra police station limits on Thursday, police said.
Circle Officer of Chetganj Rahul Mishra said the girl's mother has alleged that three youths entered their house in the morning and set her daughter on fire by pouring kerosene on her when she opposed the youths's teasing and harassment.
The three used to stalk her daughter on her way to school. The Class 12 girl has been admitted in a government hospital at Kabirchaura, where she is undergoing treatment, Mishra said.
An FIR has been registered against three persons under IPC sections 354 and 326 at Sigra police station.
One accused identified as Pappu has been detained for interrogation, while a search has been launched for the other two youths Babudan and Gappu, Mishra said, adding that further investigation was on.
However, Mishra said that the family members of the three accused had denied that they set the girl on fire.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Varanasi, Jogendra Kumar, said that the girl has been admitted to a hospital with serious burn injuries and that the FIR was lodged by her father who had named the three accused.
However, he added that her father, Naseem Nate,"is a history-sheeter and was arrested in 2013 for a case of assault on Gablu and Pappu.
"Moreover, his tenant Ashok Bhatt who was present on the site of the incident and received minor injuries in dousing the flames, has alleged that none of the accused was involved in the incident and that the story is being cooked up by the complainant to settle scores".
He also added that Bhatt "despite living in Naseem's house has been known to be sympathetic to Gablu and Pappu. He had even given a statement against his landlord in the 2013 assault case which had soured relations between the two.
"Even today, we have learnt, a quarrel was on between the wives of the landlord and the tenant before the girl caught fire. Having lodged an FIR, we will certainly nab the other two accused as well. However, the matter looks complicated and we would like to record the statement of the girl once she gains consciousness," the SSP added.
"There is no reason to suspect an angle of sexual harassment or love affair in the incident. All the accused are more than 20 years older than the girl. Though we shall not say anything with finality until the investigation is over," the SSP said.
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