UP woman on way to police station set ablaze by 2 molesters, cops suspended

Sitapur: Crimes against women continue unabated in Uttar Pradesh where a woman was set on fire by two men who had harassed her.

The incident took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur on Saturday when the 28-year-old woman was on her way to the police station for a third time, two days after being harassed, to file a complaint. She was turned back by cops earlier.

The woman has suffered about 60 per cent burns and is battling for life at a hospital in Sitapur.

The two accused have been identified as Rajesh and Ramu and have been arrested on Sunday. Cases have filed against them for sexual assault and attempt to murder.

According to reports, the woman and the accused are Dalits.

Three policemen including the station house officer (SHO) and the head constable have also been suspended for negligence, the police said.

Police said the woman was on her way to her in-laws’ house in the neighbouring village on November 29 when she was obstructed by two men who were brothers.

They even passed lewd remarks and tried to molest her. The woman managed to escape and rushed to police station with the help of locals but the policemen on duty sent her away, she said.

The woman arrived at her in-laws’ house and shared the ordeal after which her family informed police about the incident. A police team arrived at their home but left after asking the family to lodge a written complaint in the same police station from where she was turned back.

On Saturday, when the woman was going to the police station the two men once again stopped and poured kerosene on her, after which they set her ablaze.

The woman’s face and the upper part of her body are burnt.

In her statement, the woman named the accused and narrated the inaction of policemen.