BHOPAL: Vimukta Sharma, the 54-year-old principal of a private pharmacy college in Indore, who was allegedly set ablaze on the college campus by a former student over delay in issuance of mark-sheet on February 20, succumbed to burns early on Saturday.
Sharma lost the battle for life at a private hospital in Indore at 3.45 am on Saturday, despite sustained efforts by doctors to save her life.
The former student Ashutosh Srivastava (24), who is accused of setting her ablaze at the college campus in Indore's Simrol area, will now be booked for murdering the principal.
The draconian National Security Act (NSA) too has been already invoked against Srivastava. "We're working on all available evidence, particularly scientific evidence and will press for capital punishment for the accused during the fast track trial," IG-Indore Rural Rakesh Gupta said on Saturday.
"The Indore district administration has got the NSA invoked against the accused on our recommendation," Gupta added.
On February 20, the ex B.Pharm student, who had cleared the final eighth semester in July 2022 but did not get the mark sheets, had allegedly set the middle-aged principal ablaze in the college campus during the closing hours, while she was about to board the car to return home.
While Sharma had sustained 80% burns, the ex-student too had suffered 40% burns. After setting the college principal afire, he had fled from the spot and attempted to end his life at neighbouring Tincha Waterfalls. But a police constable Veer Singh timely saved Srivastava's life, after which he was taken into police custody.
This wasn't the first time that the young Pharma student took law in his hands.
In November 2022, he had previously attacked a male faculty of the college, Vijay Patel, over the same issue. He was subsequently arrested and booked under provisions of the Arms Act. He had come out on bail just a few weeks back.
Importantly, in February 2022, the college principal Vimukta Sharma had written to in-charge of Indore's Simrol police station about the same student, threatening to commit suicide in the college after failing to clear the seventh semester exam.
The same letter written by the lady principal in February 2022, had also mentioned about the same student Ashutosh Srivastava having attempted suicide, while he was in Class XII.