A 14-year-old girl set herself ablaze on Saturday after she was allegedly threatened by a youth to either accept his love or see her family members get hurt. She succumbed in Victoria Hospital on Sunday morning.
The deceased, Kalaivani, was a resident of Cottonpet. Her parents Adimula and Latha, who hail from Tamil Nadu, are daily wagers. She was studying in Class IX at the BBMP Girls’ High School in Cottonpet.
The police said the girl doused herself with kerosene and set herself on fire when she was alone at home around 6 pm on Saturday. On hearing her screams, the neighbours rushed to her house and shifted her to Victoria Hospital. In a statement she gave to the police before her death, Kalaivani said 16-year-old Ashok (name changed) had been forcing her to accept his love for a couple of month, threatening to harm her family members if she said no. She had brought this to the notice of her parents who had advised her to stay away from Ashok, the police said. She had also mentioned the name of one of her friends, through whom Ashok had befriended her, who could give more details about Ashok’s behaviour, they said.