BHOPAL: Six days after she was allegedly set ablaze by the son of the man who molested her, a 19-year-old alleged molestation survivor woman succumbed to burn injuries at the MY Hospital in Indore on Friday morning.
The woman, who had been under treatment at the hospital’s ICU since October 12, was shifted to the ward, following marked improvement in her condition. But her health started suddenly deteriorating on Thursday night and despite efforts by doctors, she couldn’t be saved, official sources in Indore and Khandwa district said.
On October 12, when the woman had just come out of the bathroom (outside her house), Arjun, the son of the man who molested the woman, set her ablaze after pouring kerosene in Khandwa district. She was first rushed to the Khandwa district hospital, from where doctors referred to MY Hospital in Indore.
The accused, Arjun, was arrested on October 12 only and the attempt to murder case against him, now automatically turns into a murder case.
Earlier, on October 7, the same woman had complained to the local police in Khandwa district, about a middle-aged man Mangilal Balai, having molested her in the agriculture fields. Both the woman and the alleged molester were distant relatives, hailing from the same scheduled caste.
The police arrested the accused middle-aged the next day on October 8. He was, however, granted bail by the court in the case later. Four days later, on October 12, Mangilal’s 22-year-old son Arjun, came to the woman’s house, pressurising her to withdraw the complaint against his father. When she refused, the youth allegedly set her ablaze.
Meanwhile, the opposition Congress targeted the state government over the incident.
“Repeated brutal incidents against women show that criminals have no fear in BJP rule. The death of Khandwa's daughter has once again shown that the law and order situation in Madhya Pradesh has collapsed. Daughters are unsafe everywhere and the morale of criminals is high,” former CM Kamal Nath said.
Responding to Nath’s allegations, the state BJP media in-charge Ashish Agarwal said, “The accused were arrested within the next few hours of the crime. The Mohan Yadav-led BJP government is committed to providing justice to every victim in the state. Congress, which keeps a vulture-like eye on sensitive events for its selfish interests, makes new unsuccessful attempts every day to defame the government and the administration, but faces defeat.”