Class 8 girl dies after setting herself on fire in Odisha village

Bhubaneswar: In yet another tragic incident of self-immolation in Odisha, a 13-year-old girl on Monday died allegedly after setting herself on fire in Phiringimala village of Bargarh district on Monday.

As per reports, the girl was spotted half burnt at a field near her uncle’s house at Phiringimala village in Gaisilet police limits in the morning.

She was immediately rushed to the VSS Medical College and hospital, Burla, in Sambalpur district for advanced treatment.

The victim succumbed to the burn injuries while undergoing treatment at the medical college in the afternoon, informed Abilash G., the In-charge Superintendent of Police, Bargarh district.

He said: “The victim is a minor.. Her family members filed a report claiming that she had set herself on fire. Based on their report, we have registered an Unnatural Death case in this regard, while the inquest and post-mortem of the body are going on. We have been investigating the reasons behind the death. The video containing her statement after the incident has also been seized by police,” said Abilash.

Notably, the victim, while being taken to the hospital after rescue, allegedly told villagers that she had taken the extreme step due to one of her girlfriends. However, she didn’t mention the name of the girl.

The video of her statement is doing rounds on social media. The police have seized the video and are examining it.

The victim, a Class 8 student of nearby Ashram School, had come to her uncle’s house a few days back, reportedly due to some health-related issues.

The minor victim's father, a migrant labourer, is working in a private firm in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to media persons, Inspector General of Police (Northern Range), Himansu Kumar Lal said,” Police have initiated an investigation into the matter. We will take the best possible action as per the law.”

This is the fourth such incident since one female student of Fakir Mohan Autonomous set herself on fire near the principal’s chamber over sexual harassment by one of the faculty members of the college on July 12. The female student who sustained over 90 per cent burn injuries later succumbed while undergoing treatment at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, on July 14.

Similarly, another minor girl was set on fire allegedly by three unknown bike-borne miscreants at Balanga area in Puri district on July 19. Despite all the efforts, the 16-year-old victim died during treatment at AIIMS, Delhi, after fighting for life for 14 days.

On August 6, a 20-year-old female student allegedly died after setting herself on fire in her house in the Pattamundai area of Kendrapara district.