19-year-old woman dies in Madhya Pradesh after being set on fire on Dussehra for filing molestation case

The girl had filed a molestation report against the accused’s father and his son wanted to ‘revenge his father’s insult’
A 19-year-old woman who was allegedly set on fire by a man on Dussehra, October 12, in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa passed away in Indore, police said on Friday (October 18, 2024). The girl had filed a molestation complaint against the accused’s fatherAccording to the police, after the initial treatment in Khandwa, the girl had been referred to Indore’s Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries late night on October 17. The accused, it added, wanted to take revenge from the woman for “his father’s insult”.

Khandwa Superintendent of Police, Manoj Rai told The Hindu that the victim had on October 7 gave a molestation complaint against one Mangilal Balai, 48, based on which the local police arrested him the same day.Nalda village in Kotwali police station area. Both families hail from the Dalit community, he said.

In her complaint, the woman had accused Mangilal of stalking her and trying to force himself upon her when she was alone.

Mr. Mangilal was released on bail the next day after which on October 12, his son, Arjun Balai, 22, allegedly threw some inflammable liquid on the woman and set her on fire, Mr. Rai said, adding that the she suffered 27 percent burn injuries.