Another Odisha girl sets herself ablaze, fights for life in hospital; fourth incident in a month

In yet another case of alleged self-immolation in Odisha, a 13-year-old girl is battling for life at a hospital in Bargarh district, police said on Monday.

 

The victim, a class-8 student, allegedly poured petrol on her body and set herself on fire in Phiringmal village within Gaisilat police station limits on Sunday. The reason behind the incident is not yet known.

 

According to reports, the villagers rescued the minor girl in a half-burnt condition and rushed her to Bargarh district headquarters hospital, where her condition is stated to be critical.

 

This is the fourth burning incident involving girls in the state in the last one month.

 

On July 12, a 20-year-old woman student in Balasore self-immolated on her college campus and died at AIIMS Bhubaneswar on July 14. 

 

The girl took the extreme step after alleging that her complaint of sexual harassment against the department head elicited no action from the college authorities.

 

On July 19, a minor girl was allegedly set on fire by three miscreants in Balanga and she later died at AIIMS Delhi on August 5.

 

The case sparked a political outrage after police dismissed the involvement of any other person in the incident and termed it as a case of ‘attempt to suicide’, just hours after her death.

 

The girl’s father also dismissed foul play and said his daughter killed herself due to mental distress.

 

In the third incident, the charred body of a third-year undergraduate woman college student was found from her house in Kendrapara district on August 6.

India