In a tragic incident, a 31-year-old woman set herself on fire in Shahjahanpur district after her parents were taken to police station following a tiff with neighbours over civic body poll results.
As per reports, the woman’s brother filmed the incident instead of rescuing her. She is said to be battling for her life in a hospital. The victim, identified as Saroj Yadav, poured petrol over her body and set herself ablaze on Sunday evening. A CCTV footage showed that brother Sanjeev filmed the incident while Saroj was engulfed in flames. The woman sustained severe burns and her condition was said to be critical.
The incident took place after neighbour Pawan Gupta’s wife was elected as a councillor. Saroj alleged that she was threatened by Pawan, who was trying to throw his power after his wife’s victory in the civic polls.
Earlier on Sunday, Saroj’s mother Urmila had an argument with Pawan, who then informed police.
“When police took my husband and me to the police station, my daughter got upset and tried to kill herself,” Urmila said. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Shahjahanpur, S Anand said that the victim, as per the doctors, suffered burns from neck to waist and her condition was critical.
“We found that petrol was taken out from the bike by the victim’s brother who filmed the incident. We have also recovered a CCTV footage which shows that Sanjeev was putting pressure on his sister to take the extreme step. We are investigating the role of Pawan Gupta in the incident and will take necessary action,” Anand said.
A senior police officer said that the victim’s brother and his cousins might have tried to use their sister to frame the other side in the matter. “We are investigating all the aspects of this case and action will be taken once a complaint is filed,” the officer said.