Girl set on fire for refusing proposal in Jharkhand dies, protests rage

New Delhi: The district administration in Jharkhand's Dumka has clamped prohibitory orders against public gathering after a 19-year-old girl died of burn injuries inflicted by a man whose proposal she reportedly turned down.

The mortal remains of the teenager have been taken for last rites amid heavy security as widespread protests seeking justice for the girl rage in the area.

The accused, identified as Shahrukh, poured petrol on the woman from outside the window of her room in Dumka town when she was asleep and set her on fire on Tuesday, police said.

The student of Class 12 was taken to a hospital in Dumka in critical condition with 90 per cent burns, according to India Today.

She was later taken to Ranchi's Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) where she succumbed to injuries around 2.30 am on Sunday, according to police official Nitish Kumar.

The victim in her statement to an executive magistrate reportedly said that the accused called her on mobile around 10 days ago forcing her to become friends.

The statement further said the man called her again around 8 pm Monday threatening to kill her if she did not talk to him.

The woman informed her father about the threat who assured her of talking to the man's family on Tuesday.

The woman who recorded her statement with difficulty said that on Tuesday morning she felt pain on her back and smelt something burning as she found the man running away.

When she started screaming with pain and her parents doused the fire and took her to the hospital.

Viswa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal activists held demonstrations in Dudhani Chowk in Dumka town and submitted a memorandum to the sub-divisional police officer Vijay Kumar demanding justice for the woman.