Set ablaze, Jharkhand schoolgirl dies

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 29

Even as suspense continues over the fate of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, politics has erupted over the death of a Class XII girl allegedly set on fire by a man in the Dumka district.

Soren promises strict punishment

Chief Minister Hemant Soren has promised “strictest of punishment” to the man who set a 19-year-old schoolgirl on fire because she rejected his “friendship” proposal.

While Opposition BJP claimed women are “not safe” in Jharkhand, the ruling JMM accused it of doing “communal politics” over the incident.

Soren has promised “strictest of punishment” to the man who set a 19-year-old woman on fire because she rejected his romantic advances. Calling the incident “heart-wrenching”, the Jharkhand CM said people who commit such crimes should not be forgiven.

“A lot of evil acts are being seen in society. This incident is heart-wrenching. The law is taking its course. The accused has been arrested. It is our effort to see that he is punished at the earliest.

“Such people should not be forgiven. They should be given the strictest of punishment. Laws should be brought in to further strengthen the existing laws for such incidents,” said Soren who announced an ex gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of the woman set ablaze by her alleged stalker identified as Shahrukh.

Amid protests by Hindu right-wing groups, politics has erupted with the BJP taking on Soren, facing disqualification from the Assembly under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The ruling UPA has charged Governor Ramesh Bais with “encouraging political horse-trading” by “deliberately delaying” the announcement of the decision on the CM with alliance partners JMM, Congress and RJD urging him to clear the confusion prevailing in the state for the past few days.

Condemning the incident, JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said, “The BJP should refrain from doing communal politics over it. The government also wants punishment through trial in the fast-track court.”

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