NEW DELHI: The chief of apex child rights body NCPCR will be travelling to Dumka in Jharkhand to look into the case of a class 12 student who died after being set afire by a man apparently after she spurned his advances.
The incident occurred on August 23 when the accused, identified as Shahrukh, allegedly poured petrol on the victim from outside the window of her room while she was sleeping and set her on fire, police said.
Taking cognisance of the matter, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Priyank Kanungo said he will go this week to Dumka to look into the matter.
The victim was first admitted to Phulo Jhano Medical College and Hospital in Dumka in critical condition with 90 per cent burn injuries and later referred to RIMS.
She died on Sunday.
The accused has already been arrested.
The National Commission for Women on Monday said it has written to the Jharkhand Police chief, calling for a fair investigation.
The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Jharkhand's Dumka district has said that the student was around 16 years old as per the class 10 board examination mark sheet and not an adult as claimed by the police.
It demanded action against the accused under the POCSO Act.
The High Court of Jharkhand also took suo motu cognisance of the incident on Tuesday and ordered the Director General of Police to file a report.
The BJP has attacked the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led government in the state over the incident.
The JMM, however, accused the BJP leaders of trying to do "communal politics" over the incident and said the state government also wants stringent punishment for the culprit.
Saffron party leaders, including former Jharkhand chief ministers Raghubar Das and Babulal Marandi, have demanded that the accused be tried in a fast track court and a compensation of Rs 1 crore and a job should be extended to the next of kin of the woman.
On Tuesday, Marandi claimed that Shahrukh and his friend were inspired by the terrorist organisation "Ansarullah Bangla" which was also responsible for the killings of bloggers in Bangladesh.
In a series of tweets, the BJP leader said, "This Bangladeshi outfit was planned to be banned in 2013 but the Ministry of Home Affairs officially banned them on 25 May 2015."
"Ansarullah Bangla Team is a front group for al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent. AB targeting non-Muslim women and converting them to Islam is a Modus-operandi," he said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the girl and her family will get justice only when the perpetrator of this cruelty gets the harshest punishment at the earliest.
He also called for creating a safe environment in the country for women.
Party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "Jharkhand -- The incident of ruthless murder of a girl studying in 12th is heart-wrenching. Criminals should be given punishment at the earliest."
The Congress is part of the ruling alliance in the state.
Meanwhile, the High Court of Jharkhand on Tuesday took suo motu cognisance of the case and ordered the Director General of Police to file a report.
The DGP, Neeraj Sinha, was present in the court following a summons by the bench.
The division bench of Chief Justice Dr. Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan has asked for the status report on the case.
The bench asked the DGP why the victim was referred to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi, and not to AIIMS, Deoghar, which is much closer from Dumka.
The DGP was also asked to mention in his report whether the Deoghar facility is well-equipped to handle burn cases.
On Monday the Child Welfare Committee, Dumka said the class 12 was a minor, based on her class 10 board examination mark sheet, and demanded action against the accused under the POCSO Act.
The committee said she was around 16 years old as per the mark sheet and not an adult as claimed by the police.
The National Commission for Women has written to the Jharkhand Police chief, calling for a fair investigation into the girl's death.
"The Director General of Police has been directed to submit an early report on the progress of the investigation, which should be conducted by ADG rank officer," Chief Minister Hemant Soren said in a Twitter post on Monday.