Patna: A man in Bihar set fire to two sisters who were asleep in their house in what police believe is a case of unrequited love. The younger sister died in the incident while the elder one is battling for life at the local hospital.
The incident took place at Pokharbhida village in West Champaran district on Wednesday. The accused has been absconding after the incident.
Police said the accused identified as Navneel Niraj who gave karate training to the sisters, fell in love with the elder one during the course of training and wanted to marry her, but she refused point blank.
The accused was further incensed by the response of the girls’ parents who bluntly rejected his marriage proposal and asked him to get lost. This happened a couple of days back.
Angry and vengeful, the accused reached the victims’ house on Wednesday night while both girls were asleep in one room and allegedly sprinkled petrol through the ventilator before setting the room ablaze. The fire soon engulfed the thatched house with the sisters trapped inside.
Hearing the girls screams, the family members rushed for help, but by then both had sustained serious burn injuries. They were immediately rushed to hospital where the younger sister succumbed to her injuries soon thereafter, while the elder sister is battling for her life.
Reports said most male members of the family as well as local villagers had gone to attend a wedding in the family when the criminal struck.
“We have formed a special team and are conducting raids for his arrest. Right now, we have arrested his father Rudal Sharma,” the local district superintendent of police Viany Kumar said.
He added that a team from the forensic science laboratory was reaching the spot to collect evidence.
Just recently, the accused had abducted the elder sister as well as her mother and beat them up for refusing to agree to his proposal.
Subsequently, the victim family registered a case with the police, but the police took no interest in the matter as a result of which the accused got further emboldened and eventually took this extreme step, family members say.
