KANPUR: An 18-year-old 'dalit' girl was burnt alive by unidentified persons under the limits of Bara Sagwar police station in Unnao district on Thursday.
Her charred body was found at a distance of nearly 100 meter from her house.
The incident occurred minutes after she had left home on her bicycle for the Tedha bazar, when the accused threw petrol and set her on fire, the police said.
Her body was recovered by the side of a farmland outside her village. Her bicycle was lying close to her body.
'Going by the prima-facie evidences, it seems that the girl was burnt alive,' a police official privy to the investigation said.
The police have also recovered an empty container and a box of matchsticks from the spot.
'A case has been registered against unidentified miscreants and the body has been shifted to mortuary for post-mortem examination. Whether the girl was sexually assaulted or not, will only be confirmed in the post-mortem report,' said station house officer Uttam Singh Rathore.
'She had left home on a bicycle for Tedha bazar area to buy vegetables on Thursday evening. Soon after, her burnt body was spotted by locals, they alerted her family members following which her parents and siblings rushed to the spot and informed police,' said superintendent of police Pushpanjali, who added it was yet to be ascertain whether she committed suicide or was murdered.
However, the victim’s parents and siblings have alleged she was burnt alive by unidentified people. Investigation are underway to identify her attackers, SP added.
'Going by the preliminary findings, police were treating the case as homicide as it appears that the girl had been murdered,' ADG (Lucknow (zone) Rajeev Krishna said.
'I am supervising the investigation and the culprits will be booked and sent to jail,' he said.
