Girl raped, set ablaze in UP's Fatehpur

KANPUR: An 18-year-old girl suffered 90% burns after she was allegedly set ablaze by her neighbour in Fatehpur district on Saturday afternoon. An FIR was lodged on her brother’s complaint and the accused was booked for rape and attempted murder.
On-the-run accused has been arrested. She was rushed to Kanpur, where she’s battling for life. While police quoting preliminary investigation described the incident as suicide, the girl in her statement before a magistrate from her hospital bed, alleged she was raped, doused in kerosene and set ablaze.
Police, however, claimed the two were in a relationship and the girl was found in flames an hour after a village panchayat ordered them to stay apart.While being shifted to the burns unit of Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital in Kanpur, she told reporters the accused was her neighbour and a distant relative.
Her brother told media the 25-year-old accused had been harassing his sister for two years. “On Saturday afternoon, when my mother and I were not at home, the accused barged into our house and raped my sister. When she resisted, he doused her in kerosene and set her on fire,” he said.
Circle officer, City, Kapil Deo Mishra said,“We are questioning the accused and have taken the statement of the rape survivor and her family.”
Speaking to TOI, district magistrate, Sanjeev Singh, said, “After an initial probe, we found that the girl's neigh- bour, who is her uncle, was having an affair with her and wanted to get married. A village panchayat convened on Saturday morning directed the girl and her neighbour to stay away from each other. Traumatised by the diktat, the girl probably set herself ablaze. Police are investigating every possible angle.”
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)