A 19-year-old woman died at the Coimbatore Government Hospital on December 5 after she was set ablaze by a man in Palladam, Tirupur.
In a horrific case of gender-based violence near Palladam in Tamil Nadu’s Tirupur district, a 19-year-old woman succumbed to burn injuries after a young man set her on fire.The victim Pooja, a hosiery company employee, was found battling for her life on the evening of Wednesday, January 4, after she was attacked by 22-year-old Lokesh. She was taken to the Coimbatore Government Hospital where she died this morning.
Around 3 pm on Wednesday, both Pooja and Lokesh reportedly met near Pethampalayam Road in Panapalayam, Palladam. Allegedly enraged by Pooja pressuring him to marry her, Lokesh threw a stone at her and set her on fire after pouring petrol. Upon hearing her scream, onlookers contacted the police. Witnesses allegedly saw her running from a secluded, overgrown place to the main road. She was taken to Coimbatore Government Hospital after receiving first aid in Palladam Government Hospital. She succumbed to her injuries on Thursday morning.
According to reports, Lokesh fell from his bike and injured himself after attempting to flee the scene. He was taken to the Palladam Government Hospital by the police and is being treated at the prisoners’ treatment facility. A complaint has been filed against Lokesh at the Palladam police station and he has been remanded. He was initially booked under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code. Section 302 (murder) was later added.
The First Information Report (FIR) registered on the complaint of Pooja’s relative Asina Fatima stated that Lokesh had stopped talking to Pooja, but she tried to initiate conversations with him. He had allegedly threatened that he would kill her if she tried to talk to him again. The FIR further said that Pooja had called Lokesh from her co-worker Subash’s phone and told him that she wanted to meet him. He took her to a secluded area. When Pooja was at the hospital she told a relative that both of them were talking under a tree when Lokesh attacked her.
Lokesh has been booked for murder and has been remanded.
Pooja, who hails from Mumbai, had been residing with her mother’s brother Ibrahim’s family in Rayarpalayam, Palladam. “They have been living here for seven or eight years. Pooja was working in a company nearby as a helper,” said the owner of the house where the family lives. The police believe that she had been in a relationship with Lokesh, who lived in the same neighbourhood.
“Pooja knew the accused from work. When we asked her about their relationship, she admitted to it and asked him to marry her. When he too admitted, we advised the man not to contact her again and asked him to change his phone number. They hadn’t spoken in five or six months. Four days ago, he invited her to a secluded location. He threw a stone at her and poured fuel on her when she put pressure on him to marry her. There was also a big cut on her body,” Pooja’s relative said.
Pooja’s body was cremated at Isha Crematorium in Nanjundapuram, Coimbatore. The family had faced some trouble in cremating her body as she did not have an Aadhaar card, causing many crematoriums to turn them away.
Source: The News Minute