Five days after she was set ablaze by her former student, the 54-year-old principal of a private pharmacy college in Madhya Pradesh's Indore succumbed to her burn injuries at a local hospital early on Saturday, police said.

The victim, Dr Vimukta Sharma, principal of B M College of Pharmacy located under Simrol police station area, had been battling for life after former student of the institute Ashutosh Shrivastava (24) allegedly poured petrol and set her on fire over a marksheet on Monday, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Bhagwat Singh Virde told PTI. She could not be saved despite best efforts by doctors, he said. Shrivastava had set her on fire in the college premises leaving her 80 per cent burnt, he added.

The accused, who was arrested on Monday, is currently in police custody, Virde said. The district administration has invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against Shrivastava for conspiring and committing the heinous crime, he said. According to the police official, the accused was earlier booked for attempted murder, but now after the death of the principal, a charge of murder is being added in the first information report (FIR).

Virde said Shrivastava told the police during his interrogation that the authorities of B M College were not handing over the marksheet of BPharm examination which he had cleared in July 2022. However, the college management termed Shrivastava's claim as false and alleged that he has criminal tendencies. The college authorities also claimed that despite being asked to collect his marksheet repeatedly, he did not take the document.