Tension prevailed in Daroda village of Hinganghat taluka of Maharashtra’s Wardha district on Monday, as a 24-year-old lecturer succumbed to burns at Orange City Hospital & Research Institute (OCHRI) in Nagpur, a week after she was set ablaze by her spurned suitor near her college in the nearby taluka town.
The news of the victim woman’s death sparked unrest in her village, where the people took to street to condemn her death and stopped the ambulance carrying her body from the Nagpur-based hospital to her native village. Some villagers resorted to stone pelting.
However, a 300 member-strong police force deployed specially in the village brought the situation under the control.
An intense drama unfolded in Daroda village after the parents of the victim woman had refused to take her body till they got a written assurance from the State Government that the accused Vicki Nagrale (27) — who had doused the victim woman with petrol and set her on fire on February 3 in broad day light— would be dealt with sternly. Some irate villagers were demanding that the accused be burnt alive. However, the parents agreed to accept the body after State Home Minister Anil Deshmukh assured them that the accused would be punished.
Hundreds of people turned out for the victim woman’s funeral held in the village later in the evening, amid gloom and emotional scenes.
Earlier at 6.55 am, the victim woman — who had been battling with life for a week —-succumbed to burns at OCHRI. “At around 6.30 am; patient again had bradycardia and in spite of prolonged Cardiopulmonary resuscitation as per ACLS guidelines; patient could not be revived and was declared dead at 6.55am today,” Dr. Anup Marar, Director of OCHRI.
“Probable cause of death kept was Septicemic shock in patient of 35% Grade III Deep Dermal burns with Inhalational Injury. MLC was duly conveyed and body was handed over to police authorities for post mortem and allied formalities,” Dr Marar said in a statement issued later in the day.
Dr Marar said that the victim woman, who was on ventilator since February 7, remained critical all through as she had respiratory distress and fluctuations in Blood Pressure. Her condition deteriorated further in the early hours of Monday, after oxygen levels in her blood dipped alarmingly low.
In his reaction to the death of victim woman and subsequent developments at her native village, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said: “We will not show any mercy to the accused. Many a time, the trial in this kind of cases takes time. We will not allow such a delay to take place in this case. We will prove the guilt of the accused in a quickest possible time and execute him”.
“It is rather unfortunate we could not save the victim woman from being set ablaze in such a savage manner. Nor could we save from succumbing to burns. This incident is a big blot on Maharashtra,” deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said in his condolence message.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has announced a financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased woman and a job to one of the members of the bereaved family.
Making an announcement to this effect, Minister of State for Women and Child Welfare Bachhu Kadu said: “We will prosecute the accused through a speedy trial and hand him out a stern punishment”
It may be recalled that the victim woman suffered nearly 40 per cent burns after the accused Vicki Nagrale — who was laying in wait for her near college at Hinganghat— took out petrol from his two-wheeler and poured it on her and set heron fire, at around 7.30 am on February 3. After she shrieked for her, the bystanders doused the burning victim woman with water and extinguished the fire. By then, she had been badly burnt.
The police investigations have revealed that the victim woman — who was a Botany lecturer in a Hinganghat-based college — and the accused used to travel to taluka town in Wardha district by the same bus. The accused had some month ago expressed his love for the victim woman, who spurned him.
Nagrale, who landed a job in the Railways, is married with a six-month-old daughter. He used to harass her for the past three months. The victim woman’s father had taken the accused to task, after her fixed marriage peroposal fell through.
Nagarle, who would normally travel to Hinganghat with the victim woman by bus, had arrived earlier than her near college on Monday morning.
The police suspect that the accused had hatched a conspiracy to burn the victim woman alive.
The police had arrested the accused from the Takalghat village six hours after the incident.