The Uttar Pradesh Police have filed a case against a man for allegedly setting a Dalit girl on fire in Azamgarh because she refused to give him her mobile number, the Hindustan Times reported on Wednesday.
The 16-year-old girl was taken to a hospital in Varanasi with more than 80% burns. The girl said her neighbour Mohammad Shafi entered her house in Fariha village on Monday evening and asked for her number. When she refused, he allegedly molested her and set her ablaze. Shafi was also taken to the hospital after villagers beat him up.
The police have filed a case under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 354 (assaulting a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code. The man was also booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Acts.
There have been some reports of communal tension in the village after the incident, according to The Times of India. “A large number of police personnel have been deployed in the village to prevent any untoward incident,” said Superintendent of Police Ravi Shankar Chhavi. “The case is being investigated.”
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