Bengaluru, Mar 21 (DHNS): A 15-year-old girl, who attempted suicide by setting herself ablaze at her house in Janata Nagar under JJ Nagar police station limits three days ago, failed to respond to treatment and died at Victoria Hospital on Saturday night.
The police said that Soundarya, a school dropout, had set herself on fire on Thursday evening as she could not bear the torture of her boyfriend, who was pestering her to marry him.
The victim was living with her parents Kumar and Meenakshi, the daily wage labourers. She was in a relationship with her neighbour Pravin, 21, an employee of an apparel showroom. On Thursday evening, Soundarya, who was alone at home, doused herself with kerosene and set herself on fire. The neighbours, who heard her screams, rushed to her house and doused the fire. They shifted her to Victoria Hospital. Soundarya's parents, who were informed about the incident, alerted the police. Doctors declared that Soundarya had suffered 90% burns and her condition was critical.
On Friday, Soundarya, in a statement to the police, said Pravin was constantly harassing her to marry him and even threatened her that he would reveal their relationship and circulate their photographs in the area. Unable to bear the torture, she tried to commit suicide by setting herself ablaze, police said.
“During the investigation, it was found that both of them were in a relationship for a long time and a few months ago, they had eloped and returned home after a few days. Pravin’s parents approached her parents with a marriage proposal. But Soundarya’s parents did not approve of the relationship. They told that they cannot get their daughter married, as she is a minor and also they did not like Pravin’s conduct,” said a senior police officer.
“Pravin’s parents conveyed the message to him and he grew furious. He started threatening to reveal details about their relationship to everyone in the area. That’s when Soundarya decided to kill herself,” added the officer. Based on Soundarya’s statement, JJ Nagar police booked Pravin on charge of abetment to suicide and arrested him.